WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Females: Higher Education

Helen Goodman: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the effect of the website sponsorascholar.co.uk on young women's education. [Official Report, 13 December 2012, Vol. 555, c. 1MC.]

Jo Swinson: We are aware of media reports about sponsorascholar.co.uk, a website which seeks to exploit female students. The website has been unavailable since these media reports.
	We are committed to tackling the harm and exploitation that can be associated with prostitution. We want to see the police use the law, where appropriate, to tackle those who have taken advantage of those who are forced into prostitution.
	The Government provides a generous student finance package to eligible higher education students. No eligible student has to pay for their tuition up front. Loans are available to meet the full cost of tuition charges at publicly funded institutions. These loans are not dependent on the student's or family's income. Eligible students at private institutions can apply for non-income assessed loans towards the cost of their tuition.
	Loans and grants for living costs are also available for full-time students who are attending their courses. This student finance package offers all full-time students some help towards living costs, but targets the most generous support at students from the lowest income households.

CABINET OFFICE

Jobseeker’s Allowance: North East

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people aged between 18 and 24 in (a) Redcar and Cleveland and (b) Middlesbrough local authorities were claiming jobseeker's allowance in (i) May 2010, (ii) May 2011, (iii) May 2012 and (iv) October 2012.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated December 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people aged between 18 and 24 in (a) Redcar and Cleveland and (b) Middlesbrough local authorities were claiming jobseeker's allowance in (i) May 2010, (ii) May 2011, (iii) May 2012 and (iv) October 2012. (131593)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus Administrative system.
	Table 1 shows the number of people aged 18 to 24 resident in Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough local authorities, who were claiming JSA on the requested dates.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of people aged 18 to 24 resident in Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough local authorities claiming jobseeker's allowance 
			  May 2010 May 2011 May 2012 October 2012 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 1,590 1,600 1,785 1,825 
			 Middlesbrough 1,995 2,055 2,285 2,285 
			 Note: Figures rounded to nearest 5. Source: Job Centre Plus Admin System 
		
	
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Offensive Weapons

Nick de Bois: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many reported incidents of (a) murder, (b) attempted murder, (c) wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and (d) wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent by use of a knife or sharp instrument there have been in each police force area in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated December 2012
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many reported incidents of (a) murder, (b) attempted murder, (c) wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and (d) wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent by use of a knife or sharp instrument there have been in each police force area in each of the last five years. (131181)
	The number of homicide offences recorded by the police involving a knife or sharp instrument is taken from the Homicide Index. The latest published data on homicides covers the period up to 2010/11 for England and Wales. Data for 2011/12 are due to be published by ONS in February 2013. Due to the small number of offences recorded data at police force area level are not routinely published.
	Knives or sharp instruments are taken to be involved in an incident if they are used to stab or cut, or as a threat. Please note data for 2007/08 are not comparable with those shown for later years due to changes in the way these offences were recorded.
	Data for the offence types in question are provided for the last five financial years (April to March) for all police forces areas in the following link:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/about-ons/what-we-do/publication-scheme/published-ad-hoc-data/crime-and-justice/december-2012/index.html
	Data for 2011 /12 on selected offences involving a knife or sharp instrument have been published by ONS in the data tables accompanying the quarterly crime statistics released in July 2012. This statistical bulletin is available on the ONS website here:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/period-ending-march-2012/index.html
	Separate data for Northern Ireland are published by the Police Service for Northern Ireland and the latest figures can be found here:
	http://www.psni.police.uk/monthly_crime_bulletin_apr-sep_12_13.pdf
	The Scottish Government do not publish figures separately on offences involving a knife or sharp instrument.

Public Sector: Procurement

David Hanson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2012, Official Report, column 324W, on public sector: procurement, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that subcontractors for public sector contracts at levels beyond tier three are paid directly and promptly; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: It is our policy in central Government to pay undisputed invoices within five days.
	There is already a requirement in central Government contract terms for contractors to pay their sub-contractors within 30 days. The Mystery Shopper scheme enables any firm, including all sub-contractors, to bring inappropriate practice to the attention of Cabinet Office. Such cases are then investigated; appropriate action taken and the results published.

Sovereignty: Scotland

John Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the cost of rebadging UK-branded Government supplies and possessions in the event of a vote for independence in Scotland.

Chloe Smith: The UK Government position is clear that Scotland is stronger in the UK and the UK is stronger with Scotland in it. No estimates have been made regarding rebranding Government supplies.

Women's Resource Centre

Therese Coffey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what funding he has given to the Women's Resource Centre in each of the last five years.

Chloe Smith: In the last five financial years the Cabinet Office gave the following funding to the Women's Resource Centre:
	
		
			 Financial year £ 
			 2011-12 57,000.00 
			 2010-11 196,993.00 
			 2009-10 196,993.00 
			 2008-09 196,993.00 
			 2007-08 199,576.50 
			 Total 847,555.50

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Lord-lieutenants

Kevan Jones: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what the total cost to the public purse is of all the Lord Lieutenants;
	(2)  what transport costs have been incurred by the Lord Lieutenant for County Durham in each of the last three years;
	(3)  who the current Deputy Lord Lieutenants for County Durham are;
	(4)  how Deputy Lord Lieutenants are appointed.

Chloe Smith: The cost to the public purse for all lord lieutenants for the last financial year was £1,263,852. I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) on 2 February 2011, Official Report, columns 813-14W.
	The transport costs incurred by the lord lieutenant for County Durham in each of the last three years are as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2009-10 2,800.00 
			 2010-11 3,900.00 
			 2011-12 3,880.00 
		
	
	Durham's Deputy Lieutenants are as follows:
	Active  deputy lieutenants
	Mr Sandy Anderson OBE
	Prof. John H Anstee
	Mr Alistair G Arkley CBE
	Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top
	Mr Harry J Banks OBE
	Mr Ian G Bonas OBE
	Mr John Burton
	Mr Peter Candler
	Col. Arthur W Charlton TD
	Mr David Clifford OBE
	Mr Peter M Cook
	Mr John Cuthbert OBE
	Col. (Retd) Mrs Sheenah Barclay Davies
	Mr John Elliot MBE
	Mrs Jennifer Flynn MBE
	Mr Paul Garvin QPM
	Ms Miriam Harte
	Prof. Chris Higgins
	Prof. A Pali S Hungin OBE
	Mr Alasdair MacConachie OBE
	Mr Andrew Martell
	Mr Tom Maxfield
	Col. Graham C Mitchell TD
	Mrs Sareth Natnby-Luxmoore
	Mr Frank Nicholson
	Mr Martyn Pellew
	Mr Malcolm Pratt
	The hon. James Ramsbotham
	Mr Bernard Robinson OBE
	Mrs Jennifer Robson OBE
	Ms Pam Royle
	Mr Jonathan Ruffer
	The Very Rev. Michael Sadgrove
	Mr Alan J Smith OBE
	Dame Dela Smith DBE
	Mr Kingsley Smith OBE
	Mrs Susan Snowdon JP
	Mr Richard Tonks
	The hon. Harry Vane
	Mrs Kate Welch OBE
	Mr John Williams MBE
	Dr Robert McManners
	Barbara Joan Gubbins
	The Rev. Canon Donald Jon Bell
	Mr John McDonnell QC
	Non-active deputy lieutenants
	Lord Barnard TD
	Mr Kit Bartman TD
	Sir Peter Carr CBE
	Prof. John I Clarke OBE
	Mr Peter Dawson OBE
	Mr A Neville Fairclough
	Rt. hon. Lord Foster of Bishop Auckland
	Mr Simon Gray
	Sir John Hall
	Mr John Hamilton OBE
	Lt Col. Ray Hirst OBE TD
	Mrs Judith Lund MBE
	Sir Ronald Norman OBE
	Mr Don Robson CBE
	Ms Denise Robertson MBE
	Major William K Trotter CBE
	Lord lieutenants are required to appoint deputy lieutenants (DLs) and this is done so at their discretion, subject only to the Queen not disapproving of the granting of the commission.
	The primary criterion for appointment as a DL is that of “appropriate service”, including military service together with residence in or within seven miles from the boundary of the relevant county or area. In choosing DLs lord lieutenants are expected to interpret widely “other suitable public service” which can qualify someone for appointment. In particular they should be looking for people well known in their locality for the service they have or are giving through public life, charitable activity, voluntary service or the uniformed services. The overall aim is that within each county or area DLs should be widely representative of the county or area's life in social range, gender, community background, ethnic mix and service to the community.
	A lord lieutenant wanting to appoint deputy lieutenants will write to the Cabinet Office, seeking Her Majesty's “non-disapproval” of the nominated candidates and enclosing the nominees' CV. If the DLs’ details are satisfactory and there is no objection to the appointments, a reply will be sent to the lord lieutenant confirming that Her Majesty does not disapprove of the appointments.

Voting Rights: Young People

Julie Elliott: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what recent representations he has received on lowering the voting age to 16;
	(2)  what recent research he has (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned on lowering the voting age to 16.

Chloe Smith: Records show that in the past 12 months 67 representations were received by the Cabinet Office on the issue of lowering the voting age, the majority being letters from school students doing project work as part of their Citizenship GCSE.
	Cabinet Office has not undertaken or commissioned any recent research on the issue.
	There is no consensus within Government for lowering the voting age to 16 and we therefore have no current plans to do so.

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: Finance

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what payments of the bus service operator's grant he has made to each (a) operator and (b) local authority area in each year from 2004-05 to 2011-12.

Norman Baker: The information requested is not available broken down by local authority area, or for the whole period referred to. However, the following links provide information on payments made to individual operators for claims covering the periods up to (i) 31 March 2010 and (ii) 31 March 2011:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110504135837http:/www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/busgrants/bsog/661224
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/svstem/uploads/attachment_data/file/3258/bsog-grants-paid-2011.pdf

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the future of rural bus services; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Government set out in ‘Green Light for Better Buses’:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-light-for-better-buses
	a series of reforms to attract more people onto buses, to ensure better value for the taxpayer, and to give local transport authorities more influence over their bus networks. Ultimately, however, it is for local authorities, working in partnership with their communities, to identify the right transport solutions that meet the economic and environmental challenges faced in their areas and deliver the greatest benefits for their communities.
	It has long been clear that for some isolated communities, traditional public transport is not a cost effective option. In such circumstances, the Government supports, where achievable, the establishment of community bus services or other more flexible forms of transport.
	In recognition of the important role they play in delivering local services, I have provided a total of £20 million across two rounds of our Supporting Community Transport Fund between 2010-11 and 2011-12. This funding has been distributed to 76 local transport authorities (councils and passenger transport executives) to support the establishment and development of more community transport links to employment and services in rural areas.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the effect of tolls on the Dartford Crossing on the local and wider economy.

Stephen Hammond: A full impact assessment was carried out in preparation for new charges at the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing, which were changed in October 2012. Costs and benefits relating to businesses, commuters and others are set out in the impact assessment, which can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/svstem/uploads/attachment_data/file/2565/dft-2011-08-final-ia.pdf

Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many meetings have been held at Ministerial level within his Department regarding a replacement for the Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee.

Norman Baker: I held a meeting with disability groups 11 July 2011 concerning possible successor arrangements to the Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee, (DPTAC). This was prior to the public consultation on the future of DPTAC. The results of that consultation are currently being analysed by my officials. In addition I have had several meetings with the Chairman of DPTAC to keep him informed of developments.

Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what groups representing disabled people (a) he and (b) his officials have consulted on access to transport since the Government's decision to abolish the Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee.

Norman Baker: Since the announcement that the Government was minded to abolish the Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee, my Department has held a workshop with disability groups on 1 May 2012 and two summits on 27 June 2012 and 13 September 2012 respectively. These were to discuss priorities for the Department's Accessibility Action Plan which will be published shortly.
	No decision has yet been taken concerning the possible abolition of the Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee or on any successor arrangement.

Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the successor arrangements will be following the abolition of the Disabled Persons' Transport Advisory Committee.

Norman Baker: The Department is in the process of considering the responses to its public consultation, "The abolition of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee; and the best option for successor arrangements should DPTAC be abolished". No decision has yet been taken. Because DPTAC is a body set up by Statute, the matter of its future or any possible successor arrangements will ultimately be for Parliament to decide.

Driving Tests: Southend-on-Sea

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will increase the number of instructors and examinations at the driving test centre in Southend.

Stephen Hammond: The driving test centre at Tickford, in Southend-on-Sea, provides supplementary local testing in addition to that already provided by the main driving test centre at Basildon.
	The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has continually reviewed the service from this centre and has increased test provision from two examiners on two days each week, to three examiners on three days each week.
	DSA is currently providing the maximum number of test appointments possible from this location. That capacity is governed by availability of waiting room space and car parking for test candidates and work space requirements for staff.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications have been made to the Exceptional Hardship Scheme where no offers have been received; and what the average time was such properties had been on the market at the time of the application for (a) successful and (b) rejected applications.

Simon Burns: I can confirm that HS2 Ltd does hold this information, but because it is not collated as a matter of course, it will take HS2 Ltd staff some time to draw it together. As soon as this has been done I will write to the right hon. Lady and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the distance was from the proposed HS2 route for each application to the Exceptional Hardship Scheme where criterion two was accepted for (a) rural and (b) urban areas.

Simon Burns: The Department does not publish information relating to the distance from the line of route of applications to the HS2 Exceptional Hardship Scheme. There is no set distance within which properties qualify and the location of property criterion is only one of five criteria assessed as part of an application. We do not believe it would be in the public interest to release this information as it risks providing misleading information to potential applicants that would undermine the effective working of the scheme.

London Midland

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent reports he has received on (a) the levels of service, (b) number of cancellations and (c) other matters related to London Midland; whether he has any plans to (i) review the London Midland franchise arrangements and (ii) discuss the level of service with management; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: In addition to the regular performance reports that London Midland provides in line with its contractual obligations, the Department for Transport now receives daily updates on performance levels, enabling us to monitor closely the current level of cancellations.
	My officials remain in daily contact with London Midland management to work to resolve the current issue of driver-related cancellations, and I have discussed the matter directly with London Midland's Managing Director.
	Our priority is to ensure that a reliable passenger service is restored as quickly as possible.
	Further action is being considered according to the provisions of the franchise agreement, and the Department will make a further announcement in due course once a decision has been taken.

Public Transport

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to improve the availability of public transport in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.

Norman Baker: The Government continues to provide significant levels of funding to support public transport provision across the country.
	(a) Coventry
	The Government has provisionally approved £9.75 million maximum funding contribution towards the £18.77 million cost of the Coventry-Nuneaton Rail Upgrade local major scheme. This will improve the frequency of rail services between Nuneaton and Coventry, provide new stations at Coventry (Ricoh) Arena and Bermuda Park and provide a new bay platform at Coventry station. Funding has been allocated during Control Period 5 (2014-19) for the electrification of this line as part of the ‘Electric Spine’. On completion this will enable the Coventry-Nuneaton service to change from diesel to electric power. Funding for electrification of the Coventry-Leamington line, as part of the ‘Electric Spine’, has also been provided.
	Centra, the Integrated Transport Authority that deals with public transport in the Coventry area, has been allocated £120 million of Integrated Transport Block funding over the current spending review period to spend on smaller transport schemes, as well as some £36.5 million of Local Sustainable Transport Funding (LSTF), £5 million Better Bus Area funding and £300,000 from the Green Bus Fund.
	(b) West Midlands
	Across the West Midlands, Government is investing some £250 million in local authority major transport schemes, £193 million of Integrated Transport Block, £77.8 million of LSTF and £5.2 million of Green Bus Fund to bus operators.
	On rail, work is underway to rebuild Birmingham New Street, and many rail services on the Snow Hill Lines and Birmingham-London lines have been equipped with modern rolling stock. We also propose to fund Network Rail to electrify the route between Walsall and Rugeley. Plans to build a new rail link from the Great Western Main Line to Heathrow Airport will substantially enhance rail links between the West Midlands and Heathrow via Reading.
	(c) England
	Funding in this Spending Review period that supports public transport in England (outside London), includes £1.8 billion in local authority major transport schemes, £1.44 billion of Integrated Transport Block, £600 million LSTF and £70 million of Better Bus Area funding.
	The Government announced in July over £9 billion of Government funding for the railway in England and Wales, including projects to increase rail capacity, improve reliability and reduce journey times. We are also funding new trains including the Intercity Express Programme.
	HS2 will reduce the time it takes to travel between our major cities, driving regional regeneration, supporting job creation and improving the quality of life for residents. It will provide improved intercity connections between the West Midlands, London and cities in the North.
	In 2011/12 we paid a total of £440.5 million Bus Service Operators Grant to bus operators in England as well as £75 million of Green Bus Fund (with another £20 million recently announced).
	The Department also provides a transport grant to Transport for London of some £10.9 billion over this Spending Review period, much of which benefits passengers from outside the London area.

Public Transport: Disability

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what groups representing disabled people (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have (i) met and (ii) consulted in the construction and formulation of his Department's new accessibility strategy.

Norman Baker: As part of the preparation of the Accessibility Action Plan, my Department held two summits and a workshop with a number of disability groups. These included representatives from:
	Disability Rights UK
	Leonard Cheshire Disability
	Guide Dogs
	Mental Health Action Group
	Choice Support
	Essex Coalition of Disabled People
	Trailblazers - Muscular Dystrophy Campaign
	Transport for All
	MENCAP
	DPTAC
	Joint Committee on Mobility for Disabled People
	Office for Disability Issues
	Breakthrough UK Ltd.
	Equality and Human Rights Commission
	Royal National Institute for the Blind
	Disability Hate Crime Network
	Age UK
	Employer's Forum on Disability
	Oxfordshire Unlimited
	The Confederation of Passenger Transport UK
	Passenger Focus
	Association of Transport Coordinating Officers
	Bus Users UK
	Action on Hearing Loss
	Scope
	Passenger Transport Executive Group

Public Transport: Disability

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to announce his Department's new accessibility strategy.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport will be publishing its Accessibility Action Plan shortly.

Railways: Fares

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many passengers were found to be on a train without the required ticket to travel and having had the chance to purchase a ticket in (a) 2011, (b) 2010, (c) 2009 and (d) 2008, by train operating company;
	(2)  how many passengers were prosecuted for fare evasion in (a) 2011, (b) 2010, (c) 2009 and (d) 2008, by train operating company.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport does not hold this information. This is a matter for the train operators.

Rescue Services

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will re-examine the Government's decision to restructure the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination centres throughout the UK in light of recent adverse winter weather.

Stephen Hammond: There is no requirement for the Government to re-examine the decision to restructure HM Coastguard in light of recent adverse winter weather. The restructure does not directly affect the delivery of front line Search and Rescue (SAR) response by the Coastguard Rescue Service, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Independent Lifeboat Organisations and the SAR Helicopters provided by the Ministry of Defence and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Rescue Services

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effects of any potential reliance on the volunteer Coastguard Rescue Service or other partners such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution arising from the closure of local rescue co-ordination centres in the event of adverse winter weather.

Stephen Hammond: The Coastguard Rescue Service and Search and Rescue (SAR) partners such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution are routinely operationally resilient to deal with adverse winter weather. Dynamic risk assessment is standard practice. As the restructure of HM Coastguard does not directly affect the delivery of front line SAR response such an assessment is not appropriate.

Thameslink Railway Line

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with Bombardier on plans for the Thameslink rolling stock contract should Siemens and his Department fail to reach a financial agreement by the end of the year.

Simon Burns: We remain confident of reaching commercial close by the end of the year and financial close early in the new year. Therefore, neither the Secretary of State for Transport nor his officials have had any such discussions with Bombardier.

Thameslink Railway Line

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if it is not possible for his Department to reach financial close with Siemens on the Thameslink rolling stock contract whether Bombardier, as reserved bidder, would automatically be invited to start negotiations with the Government on assuming the contract.

Simon Burns: We remain confident of reaching financial close with Siemens early in the new year. If financial close cannot be reached with Siemens on the Thameslink rolling stock contract Bombardier would not automatically be invited to start negotiations, but they remain reserve bidder.

Thameslink Railway Line

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if it is not possible for his Department to reach financial close with Siemens on the Thameslink rolling stock contract whether he is considering allowing Siemens to manufacture the trains and another organisation to provide the funding and finance.

Simon Burns: We remain confident of reaching financial close with Siemens early in the new year. The Department is not considering using a separate organisation to arrange the funding and finance for the Thameslink rolling stock contract.

Thameslink Railway Line

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if it is not possible for his Department to reach financial close with Siemens on the Thameslink rolling stock contract whether he is considering allowing Bombardier to manufacture the trains and other organisations to provide the funding and finance.

Simon Burns: We remain confident of reaching commercial close by the end of the year and financial close early in the new year. There have been no discussions with Bombardier regarding manufacturing the trains and with other organisations to provide the funding and finance.

Thameslink Railway Line

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the Thameslink rolling stock contract, whether all the new rolling stock will be delivered for the December 2018 timetable change.

Simon Burns: We remain confident that all of the new rolling stock for Thameslink will be delivered by the December 2018 timetable change.

Transport: Fire Hazards

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with representatives of Network Rail and the Highways Agency on the review of all major roads and railways in England to identify fire hazards following the M1 fire in April 2011;
	(2)  when his Department intends to publish the Highways Agency and Network Rail study of potential sources of fire risk from third-party activities at other critical locations beneath or adjacent to their retrospective networks.

Stephen Hammond: Following the M1 incident in April 2011, the Highways Agency and Network Rail, at the request of the then Secretary of State for Transport, carried out audits to categorise potential sources of fire and risk from third party activities at other critical locations beneath or adjacent to their respective networks.
	The Highways Agency and Network Rail were subsequently asked by the then Minister to develop action plans based on the recommendations of these reports.
	We intend to publish the reports as soon as possible, subject to final comments from other Departments. It was never the intention to publish the list of critical locations, for security reasons.

West Coast Railway Line: Franchises

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the date of publication of the final report of the Laidlaw Inquiry was changed; and what notice was given to Mr Laidlaw of that change.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), asked Sam Laidlaw, in his commissioning letter, to present his report to the Secretary of State by the end of November. Mr Laidlaw submitted a final draft report on 28 November. Given the level of detail in the report and the complex legal and commercial issues it covers, it is right that Ministers and the Department have an opportunity to consider fully its findings before formal publication.
	The date of the publication is a matter for the Department. The Secretary of State discussed the Department's plan for doing this with Mr Laidlaw on 28 November.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Circumcision

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Attorney-General how many prosecutions have been brought against those alleged to have caused harm through the performance of home circumcisions in each of the last three years.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service does not hold central data reporting the number of prosecutions against people alleged to have caused harm through the performance of home circumcision. Such data could not be reasonably obtained locally or nationally other than by reviewing individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Serious Fraud Office

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Serious Fraud Office has paid out in redundancy payments since May 2010.

Dominic Grieve: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement which I presented to the House earlier today.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Select Committees: Hearing Impairment

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what facilities for hard of hearing people were available in Committee Room 11 on 29 November 2012 for the Fourth Delegated Legislation Committee starting at 11.30 am.

John Thurso: To assist Members and others who are hard of hearing, all Committee Rooms are fitted with an induction loop linked to the microphone system. The loop system in Committee Room 11 was checked following receipt of the hon. Member's question. A fuse in the induction loop amplifier was found to have blown; it has now been replaced and the loop is working satisfactorily.
	Committee Room sound systems are checked each day before Committee Rooms are used. It is not practicable to carry out a full check of the loop systems daily, but these are checked weekly. Following the hon. Member's experience an additional daily visual check of loop amplifiers has been instituted. I would encourage the hon. Member, if he encounters any further such problems, to raise them with staff at the time so they are able to clear the fault as soon as possible.

Select Committees: Hearing Impairment

David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, if representatives of the House of Commons Service will consult with organisations involved with hard of hearing people to discuss improvements that can be made in this area for committee hearings.

John Thurso: One of the four priority areas under the House's Diversity and Inclusion Scheme 2012-15 is to recognise leading-edge practice in equality, diversity and inclusion. To do this, and to measure progress, the House Service participates in a range of benchmarking indices. One of these indices is the ‘Louder than Words Charter’ published by Action on Hearing Loss (formerly the Royal National Institute for Deaf People). The House Service has recently completed actions in order to comply with this Charter.
	As part of this work, the Estates Group Signage Board has been asked to provide signage for the Committee Rooms to make it evident that induction loops are in place. These loops are available for all Committee meetings under the direction of the Chair, and activate automatically when the system enters broadcast mode. At other times the loop is available on request. This work is part of a longer term project involving induction loop signage across the parliamentary estate.
	ParliAble, the workplace equality network for disability, will be reviewing accessibility in Parliament as part of its 2013 action plan. The House Service is a member of the Business Disability Forum, and ParliAble will be working with the House's Diversity and Inclusion Team to participate in its Disability Standard, another benchmarking exercise, in April 2013.
	If the hon. Member has further questions, the Head of Diversity and Inclusion will be happy to address these.

TREASURY

Child Benefit

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many households in (a) the UK, (b) each region of the UK and (c) each constituency have received letters from HM Revenue and Customs informing them that their child benefit is likely to be reduced or withdrawn.

Sajid Javid: By the end of November, HM Revenue and Customs estimates that approximately 750,620 letters will have been received by households in the UK. The number of letters received by region and by constituency will be deposited in the Library of the House.

Climate Change

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which the Government's fiscal policies are ensuring that growth is achieved alongside the objectives of (a) tackling climate change and (b) sustainable use of natural resources, as set out in paragraph 2.24 of the Treasury's annual report and accounts 2011-12; and if he will make a statement.

Sajid Javid: The Government is addressing climate change through both taxation and spending. It has spent £3 billion funding the Green Investment Bank, pledged £1 billion to the demonstration of carbon capture and storage and funded the Renewable Heat Incentive, as well as providing £2.9 billion of international climate finance through the ICF from April 2011 to March 2015. Further the climate change levy and carbon price floor are encouraging the use of, and investment in, low-carbon energy.
	In relation to sustainable use of natural resources, the landfill tax remains the key driver to divert waste from landfill and achieve key UK and EU targets in 2013 and 2020. Since 1996, when landfill tax was introduced, the amount of waste sent to landfill has nearly halved. The UK Government announced in advance the annual increases in the standard rate of landfill tax towards a floor of £80 per tonne in 2014-15, with a commitment not to lower this rate until 2020. Under the resources allocated to DEFRA at the spending review, the Government is ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources through the Rural Development Programme for England and the allocation of £100 million to international forestry projects.

Government Departments: Scotland

John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the value of buildings owned by the UK Government in Scotland.

Danny Alexander: This information is not held centrally. It is each organisation's responsibility to maintain a register of all the assets it owns and uses.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Abu Qatada

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to appeal against the decision of the Special Immigration Appeals Tribunal in the case of Abu Qatada; and when she expects to lodge such an appeal.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 28 November 2012
	As the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), said in her statement to the House on 12 November 2012, Official Report, columns 37-47, the Government disagrees with the Special Immigration Appeals Commission's decision to uphold Abu Qatada's appeal against the Secretary of State's refusal to revoke his deportation order. Our grounds for appeal were submitted to the Court of Appeal within the deadline of 21 days from hand down of SIAC's judgment.

Charitable Donations: Fraud

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking against organised criminal gangs committing fraud and theft relating to bogus house-to-house charity collections.

Jeremy Browne: This Government is committed to improving the response to organised, economic and business crime through establishing a more intelligence-based and co-ordinated cross-sector response, particularly through the development of the National Crime Agency and Economic Crime Command. Where intelligence demonstrates that charity bag crime is linked to organised criminal groups there may be scope for targeted enforcement activity.

Drugs: Children

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have been arrested for (a) all and (b) Class A drugs offences in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Browne: Available data relates to the number of persons aged under 18 arrested for drug offences in England and Wales between 2008-09 and 2010-11, and are given in the following table.
	
		
			 Number of persons aged under 18 arrested for drug offences, England and Wales, 2008-09 to 2010-11 
			  Number of arrests 
			 2008-09 15,701 
			 2009-10 15,656 
			 2010-11 14,635 
		
	
	Data on arrests are reported to the Home Office on the basis of aggregated offence groupings only, therefore it is not possible to separately identify arrests relating specifically to class A drugs.

Entry Clearances: Uganda

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration she has given to refusing leave to enter the UK to Ugandan parliamentarians who are complicit in human rights abuses.

Mark Harper: All applications for visas are considered on their individual merits in line with the immigration rules. Under the immigration rules a person may be refused leave to enter, where, from the information available, his exclusion from the UK is considered conducive to the public good. An individual's human rights record will be a highly relevant factor in making this assessment.

Human Trafficking: Repatriation

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information her Department holds on how many victims of human trafficking have been returned to their home countries by Refugee Action, by country, since April 2011; and what funding is available from her Department to help with the reintegration of such victims into their home countries.

Mark Harper: Data on the number of persons identified as victims of human trafficking who have been returned to their home country by Refugee Action is not collated centrally. The information could only be provided by examination of individual records at disproportionate cost.
	The Home Office publishes immigration statistics annually and quarterly, which are available from the Home Office Research and Statistics website. This includes information on assisted voluntary returns by nationality. The latest statistics can be found in the Library of the House as well as on the following website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/immigration-asylum-research/immigration-q2-2012/
	Refugee Action administers, on behalf of the UK Border Agency, an Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) scheme which if certain criteria is met can be provided to victims of human trafficking. AVR refers to programmes that are available to those who do not have a permanent right to remain in the UK and wish to return permanently to their country of origin (or, where permanently admissible, to a third country). There are three AVR programmes each offering slightly different levels of reintegration support.
	1. The Assisted Voluntary Return of Illegal Migrants (AVRIM) programme, designed for individuals who have not made an application for asylum.
	2. The Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration programme (VARRP), for those who have made an asylum application.
	3. The Assisted Voluntary Return for Families and Children programme (AVRFC) for families and children regardless of whether they are asylum or non-asylum cases.
	Full details on eligibility and the levels of support are available from the UKBA website at:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/workingwithus/workingwithasylum/assistedvoluntaryreturn/

Immigration Controls

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, prior to the May 2012 changes to rules for qualifying for indefinite leave to remain, as announced in the written statement on 15 March 2012, Official Report, column 41WS, her Department conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the UK economy on the presence of overseas university staff who obtain visas to work in UK universities, including the effects of the 180 day absence limit over five years for tier 2 visa holders wishing to apply for indefinite leave to remain; if she will consult with UK universities on relaxing this restriction; and if she will make a statement.

Mark Harper: The changes announced on 15 March 2012 and set out in the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 1888) aim to break the link between coming to the UK to work and settling permanently, and to reserve settlement for those who make the most contribution to the UK's economy. In particular, they introduce a minimum pay threshold of £35,000 per annum for tier 2 (skilled worker) migrants applying to settle after April 2016.
	The Government published an impact assessment of the changes on 15 March, which is available on the Home Office website and in the Library of the House. The impact assessment found no impact on scientific researchers, researchers, or teachers in higher education as these are all PhD level occupations exempt from the £35,000 minimum salary requirement.
	No changes were made in HC 1888 in respect of the five year period of continuous lawful residence required for settlement of skilled workers, or to the levels of absence permitted during the five year period. However, following representations from employers and others, including from the research sector, we announced on 22 November that from 13 December 2012, the level of permitted absences from the UK will be relaxed. Up to 180 days’ absence in each qualifying year for settlement will be permitted, provided those absences are work-related, consistent with annual leave or for compelling compassionate reasons.

Olympic Games 2012: Security

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for West Ham of 15 October 2012, Official Report, column 102W, on Olympic Games 2012: security, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to police forces of having to provide extra support to cover G4S Olympic duties; and if she will provide a breakdown of the cost by police force area.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 8 November 2012
	The latest estimated total cost by police force area for the provision of police officers to undertake Olympic venue security duties in place of G4S is listed in the following table. This is based on actual claims submitted by police forces and estimates.
	
		
			 Police force Amount claimed (£) 
			 Essex Police 2,461 
			 Greater Manchester Police 440,553 
			 Hampshire Constabulary 31,396 
			 Hertfordshire Constabulary (includes Bedfordshire police) 255,707 
			 Lincolnshire Police 8,861 
			 Metropolitan Police Service 144,788 
			 Norfolk Constabulary 32,705 
			 Northumbria Police 169,521 
			 Nottinghamshire Police 5,015 
			 South Wales Police 783,121 
		
	
	
		
			 Staffordshire Police 348,449 
			 Suffolk Constabulary 16,886 
			 Surrey Police 204,517 
			 Sussex Police 31,257 
			 Thames Valley Police 156,062 
			 Warwickshire Police 128,501 
			 West Mercia Constabulary 315,260 
			 West Midlands Police 1,080,766 
			 Strathclyde Police 1,492,087 
			 Total 5,647,913 
		
	
	As I indicated in my response to a previous question from the right hon. Gentleman on 26 November 2012, Official Report, columns 35-36W, G4S have committed to covering additional costs incurred by the police and armed forces as a result of their failing to meet their contractual guarding commitments at games venues in full.

Police and Crime Commissioners

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether police and crime commissioners will be required to publish the contracts which (a) they and (b) their chief constable let.

Damian Green: The Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011, as amended by the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) (Amendment) Order 2012 sets out the information Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are required to publish to allow the public to hold them to account. A list of contracts with a value of £10,000 or less is to be published, and tenders and contracts with a value over £10,000 are to be published in full.
	This includes contracts made by the chief constable, as well as those made by the PCC, to ensure that the public has a complete picture of police spending.

Police and Crime Commissioners: Vetting

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether members of the police and crime panels are required to undertake a check by the Criminal Records Bureau before an appointment is approved; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: There is no requirement in legislation for members of police and crime panels to undergo Criminal Records Bureau checks.

Police: Cleveland

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2012, Official Report, columns 566-7W on Cleveland: police, for what reasons the number of police officers at basic command unit level is no longer collected; and how many police officers there were in the Hartlepool Basic Command Unit in March (i) 2010, (ii) 2011 and (iii) 2012.

Damian Green: As at 31 March 2010 there were 198 police officers, and as at 31 March 2011 there were 194 police officers, within Hartlepool basic command unit (full-time equivalents).
	The number of police officers at basic command unit level ceased to be collected from 2011-12, following an independent assessment by Lord Wassermann, who examined the annual data requirement (ADR) process, with a view to reducing the administrative burden on police forces. This recommendation was approved by the ADR group, and the collection ceased in 2011-12.

Police: Pensions

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the financial health of police pension funds for forces in the North East of England.

Damian Green: None. The Police Pension Scheme is an unfunded scheme; police forces do not manage pension investment funds, which are a feature of funded pension schemes. The police pensions account in each force area is balanced on an annual basis using central Government grant funding.

Publications

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on newspapers, periodicals and trade profession magazines in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

James Brokenshire: For the most recently available 12 month period (July 2011 to June 2012), the Home Department spent £52,510 on newspapers, periodicals and trade magazines.

UK Border Agency

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what country of origin information fact finding missions have been conducted in Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of Congo by the UK Border Agency in 2012; and if she will place the reports of any such fact finding missions in the Library.

Mark Harper: The UK Border Agency conducted one fact finding mission (FFM) to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in 2012, between 18 and 28 June. The report of the FFM was published on 30 November 2012 and is available on the Agency website:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/coi/drc/

Vetting

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff were employed by the (a) Independent Safeguarding Authority and (b) Criminal Records Bureau in each of the last five years; and how many staff she expects to be employed by the Disclosure and Barring Service in each of the next five years.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 13 November 2012
	Table 1 provides information on the number of staff employed by (a) the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) and (b) the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) in each of the last five years.
	ISA and CRB formed a new non-departmental public body on 1 December 2012, becoming the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The expected staff numbers for DBS over the next five years are included in Table 2.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of staff employed by (a) the Independent Safeguarding Authority and (b) the Criminal Records Bureau in each of the last five years 
			  (a) Independent Safeguarding Authority (1) (b) Criminal Records Bureau (2) 
			 2007-08(3) 58 466 
			 2008-09 144 558 
			 2009-10 255 638 
			 2010-11 287 635 
			 2011-12 272 488 
			 (1) As a non-departmental public body ISA staffing information is reported as average number of staff employed during each year (FTE) and includes all employees. (2) CRB staffing information is reported as actual number of staff employed as at 31 March each year (FTE). For comparison with ISA all staff have been included (civil servants and those substituting as civil servants). (3) 2008-09 was the first full year of operation for the Independent Safeguarding Authority—before this it was known as the Independent Barring Board. Source: Information has been obtained from (a) ISA Annual Report and Accounts and (b) Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, at 31 March each year. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)—projected staff figures 
			  Disclosure and Barring Service (projected) 
			 30 November 2012 807 
			 31 March 2013 812 
			 2013-14 852 
			 2014-15 859 
			 2015-16 780 
			 2016-17 695 
			 2017-18 675

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Building Alterations: Planning Permission

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether parliamentary approval is required for his proposed changes to permitted development rights for extensions to homes and business premises in non-protected areas.

Nicholas Boles: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 November 2012, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA284.

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much each successful bidder under the Weekly Collection Support scheme (a) applied for and (b) has been awarded.

Brandon Lewis: A full list of how much each successful bidder was awarded was made available on 22 November in the Table of Successful Bids on the Department's website.
	Only five of the 90 successful bids were partially rather than fully funded. These were from the local authorities of: Bexley, Brent, North Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, and Sefton. Some elements of these bids were appropriate to the scheme arid others were not—hence the offer of partial funding.

Housing

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 25 October 2012, Official Report, column 995W, on housing, what guidance his Department gives to local authorities in the event of housing demand outstripping the physical supply of land within a local plan area.

Mark Prisk: The National Planning Policy Frameworks sets out that local councils should use their evidence base to ensure that their local plan meets the full, objectively assessed needs for market and affordable housing in the housing market area, as far as is consistent with the policies set out in the framework.
	At the heart of the National Planning Policy Framework is a presumption in favour of sustainable development, which should be seen as a golden thread running through both plan-making and decision-taking. For plan-making this means that:
	Local planning authorities should positively seek opportunities to meet the development needs of their area.
	Local plans should meet objectively assessed needs, with sufficient flexibility to adapt to rapid change, unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in this framework taken as a whole; or specific policies in this framework indicate development should be restricted(1).
	It also says that local councils should work collaboratively with other bodies to ensure that strategic priorities across local boundaries are properly co-ordinated and clearly reflected in local plans. Local councils should work together to meet development requirements which cannot wholly be met within their own areas—for instance, because of a lack of physical capacity or because to do so would cause significant harm to the principles and policies of the framework.
	(1) For example, those policies relating to sites protected under the birds and habitats directives and/or designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest; land designated as green belt, local green space, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Heritage Coast or within a National Park (or the Broads Authority); designated heritage assets; and locations at risk of flooding or coastal erosion.

Housing Act 2004

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many local authorities in England have staff dedicated to the task of enforcing breaches of the Housing Act 2004 in respect of category 1 and 2 hazards.

Don Foster: The Department does not hold information on how many local authorities in England have staff dedicated to enforcing breaches of the Housing Act 2004 in respect of category 1 and 2 hazards. It is for local authorities to decide how to allocate their staff resources in order to carry out their functions.

Housing Act 2004

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many local authorities in England have published plans for dealing with category 1 and 2 hazards as defined in the Housing Act 2004;
	(2)  how many local authorities in England have plans in place to identify the prevalence of category 1 and 2 hazards as defined in the Housing Act 2004.

Don Foster: The Housing Act 2004 requires local housing authorities to keep the housing conditions in their area under review with a view to identifying any action that may need to be taken by them under, among other things, the provisions of the Act relating to enforcement against category 1 and 2 hazards. It is for local housing authorities to decide how they organise themselves so as to carry out those responsibilities. The Department therefore does not monitor how many local authorities in England have plans to identify the prevalence of category 1 and 2 hazards.

Housing: Suffolk

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new houses his Department expects to be built in Suffolk Coastal constituency in the next three years.

Mark Prisk: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not make forecasts of future levels of house building nor do we impose top-down Whitehall targets on local communities.

Housing: Suffolk

Therese Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new houses were built in Suffolk Coastal constituency in each of the last three years.

Mark Prisk: Data on house building by local authority district can be found in live table 253 at the following link.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building
	Data is collected only at local authority district level and is not available by parliamentary constituency.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2012, Official Report, columns 344-5W, on planning permission: appeals, for what reason that answer stated that information on which local authorities have had more than 20 per cent of major decisions overturned on appeal is not centrally available when his Department's impact assessment of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill states that currently no authority has more than 20 per cent of its major decisions overturned on appeal.

Nicholas Boles: Impact assessments are documents intended to illustrate the effects of a change in Government policy at the national level; of necessity data are sometimes used which would not be used elsewhere, for example due to concerns over its robustness at the local level.
	For the particular impact assessment referred to by the right hon. Member two years' worth of data from the Planning Inspectorate on appeals was used together with planning decision information from DCLG for the same period, despite the fact that the appeals were not necessarily decided in that period. This was acceptable as the impact assessment was trying to estimate the number of authorities who might be affected by the change in policy. However, it would be unfair to publish this information for individual authorities or use it to assess their performance, as this could lead to authorities being wrongly judged to have made poor quality decisions.

Planning Permission: Judicial Review

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Prime Minister's speech to the Confederation of British Industry's annual conference on 19 November 2012, what recent discussions he has had with the Campaign to Protect Rural England on potential reform of judicial review procedures during planning applications.

Nicholas Boles: Details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations are published online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-communities-and-local-government&publication_type=transparency-data

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the use of the EMALS electromagnetic launch system on the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 10 May 2012, Official Report, columns 140-42, in which he said that there are no plans to fit any aircraft launch and recovery systems such as EMALS to the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Ammunition

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he takes to assess the potential humanitarian and environmental effects of toxic munitions and munitions components prior to use.

Philip Dunne: Since 1999 all weapons and equipment entering service have been subject to a formal legal weapons review in accordance with article 36 of Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva conventions.
	Such reviews take into account whether proposed new means or methods of warfare are: prohibited or restricted by any specific treaty provision or other applicable rule of international law; may cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering; are capable of being used discriminately; are expected to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment; and are affected by current and possible future trends in the development of international humanitarian law.

Canada

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with US authorities to encourage their use of BATUS Canada for training.

Andrew Robathan: UK and US forces recently conducted a successful joint training exercise in British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) in Canada, as part of Exercise Prairie Thunder 3. The training was beneficial to both the UK and US, and discussions are under way about possible future co-operation.

Defence: Procurement

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent progress his Department has made in its implementation of the Review of Acquisition by Bernard Gray.

Philip Dunne: The Materiel Strategy, the programme set up to review defence acquisition, is finalising a business case covering the options to achieve a step change improvement in defence acquisition, support and logistics. The case will be considered internally by the Ministry of Defence and HM Treasury to assess how best to proceed before moving forward to an assessment phase.

Guided Weapons

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on upgrading the Storm Shadow cruise missile; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 3 December 2012
	The Storm Shadow missile has already benefitted from recent improvements to its planning system. As part of the planned future mid-life replacement programme, consideration is being given to introduce further enhancements to the Storm Shadow weapon system to maintain its capability in line with current planning requirements. Concept studies are ongoing and a final decision will be made shortly.

Libya

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has commissioned any reviews into the lessons learnt from Operation Ellamy; and if he will place any such reviews in the Library.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 1 November 2012
	The usual post-operational lessons processes have been followed in respect of Operation Ellamy. I am withholding the relevant reports as their release would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces, international relations and the formulation of Government policy.

Libya

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the (a) type and (b) number of ground-attack weapons fired by Typhoon aircraft during Operation Ellamy.

Andrew Robathan: holding answer 28 November 2012
	Enhanced Paveway II was the only ground attack weapon employed by Typhoon during Operation Ellamy. Typhoon aircraft deployed around 240 Enhanced Paveway II munitions.

Libya

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of lessons learned by (a) the UK and (b) NATO arising from the transportation of munitions to forward bases during Operation Ellamy.

Andrew Robathan: I am withholding this information as its release would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness and security of our armed forces and international relations.

Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Defence Police Federation has been consulted on the future role of the Ministry of Defence police at Ministry of Defence sites in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Formal consultation on proposals that could affect the future requirement for the Ministry of Defence police began on 8 October 2012, and is continuing.
	The Defence Police Federation is fully engaged with the consultation process both at official level and with Ministers. I met their national chairman and general secretary on 27 November 2012 to discuss their position.

Pakistan

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether UK unmanned aerial vehicles have been used in Pakistan for surveillance or reconnaissance.

Andrew Robathan: No.

Sodexo

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the performance of Sodexo in respect of the inspection and maintenance of kitchen equipment in Army garrisons.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 3 December 2012
	Under a series of contracts, and as a sub-contractor under the Allenby/Connaught and Colchester Garrison private finance initiatives, Sodexo provides facilities management services to a number of Army sites in the UK. Given the number of contracts and sites involved, no single assessment has been made of the performance of Sodexo in respect of the inspection and maintenance of kitchen equipment.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the work being conducted by the Rotary Wing Unmanned Air System Capability Concept Demonstrator programme; and when he expects it to report.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 29 November 2012
	The Rotary Wing Unmanned Air System Capability Concept Demonstrator is a two-year research project to explore how such a system might be used to fill a range of maritime roles. It is expected to report by mid-2015. An advertisement was placed in the Defence Contracts Bulletin in July and expressions of interest were received from a number of companies. The competitive process is ongoing and the Ministry of Defence expects that a contract will be awarded in mid-2013.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the use of the Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle by the British Army; whether there are any plans to (a) arm the Watchkeeper and (b) consider it for operations with the Royal Navy; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 29 November 2012
	Watchkeeper is a tactical unmanned air system that will provide battlefield commanders with an all-weather intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance capability. There are no plans currently to arm Watchkeeper, and although the Army may use it in support of littoral operations, we have no plans to operate the system from Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the potential threat to national security of the (a) acquisition and (b) use of drones by (i) governments and (ii) non-state actors.

Chloe Smith: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The 2010 National Security Strategy was informed by a National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) which provides a comprehensive assessment and prioritisation of all major extant and emerging risks which seriously threaten the UK's national security interests. Due to the NSRA's strategic focus it does not include a specific risk of drone acquisition or their use but does include a range of more generic state-led and non-state led threats to our national security interests. The employment of an array of offensive technologies, including drones, was considered when assessing these generic threat scenarios.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Art Works: Loans

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will extend the eligibility of participants in the Own Art scheme to include independent artists who only sell their own work.

Edward Vaizey: The Own Art scheme is run independently from Government by Arts Council England. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has no intention to review the Arts Council's operation of this scheme.

Broadband Delivery UK

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has for Broadband Delivery UK after 2015.

Edward Vaizey: There are currently no plans for Broadband Delivery UK beyond the current spending review commitment.

Culture

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will estimate the economic benefit of the culture sector in (a) Liverpool, (b) Manchester, (c) Sheffield, (d) Newcastle, (e) Sunderland, (f) Leeds, (g) Exeter, (h) Bristol, (i) Brighton and (j) Southampton in each of the last seven years.

Edward Vaizey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is not planning to estimate the economic benefit of the culture sector in these specific cities in each of the last seven years. However, DCMS is working with its arm's length bodies to better understand the economic contribution culture makes to the economy at national level. Arts Council England is currently in the process of commissioning a study to produce an evidence-based understanding of the direct, indirect and wider contribution that arts and culture make to the national economy. Liverpool's experience as the European Capital Culture demonstrated the impact that culture can have on a city and region, generating an economic impact of over £750 million for Liverpool, Merseyside and the wider north-west region.

Employment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate she has made of the number of people who are employed in the travel and leisure sector in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) South Yorkshire and (c) England.

Hugh Robertson: The Department does not record this information. However, data on employment by industry and area is recorded by the Office for National Statistics, via the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES). BRES data specific to the tourism industries is available via VisitEngland's Destination Intelligence System at the following link:
	http://www.t-stats-uk.co.uk/visitengland/Default.aspx

Females: Higher Education

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the effect of the website sponsorascholar.co.uk on female students' welfare; [Official Report, 13 December 2012, Vol. 555, c. 2MC.]
	(2)  what steps she is taking to close the website sponsorascholar.co.uk.

Jo Swinson: We are aware of media reports about sponsorascholar.co.uk, a website which seeks to exploit female students. The website has been unavailable since these media reports.
	We are committed to tackling the harm and exploitation that can be associated with prostitution. We want to see the police use the law, where appropriate, to tackle those who have taken advantage of those who are forced into prostitution.
	The Government provides a generous student finance package to eligible higher education students. No eligible student has to pay for their tuition up front. Loans are available to meet the full cost of tuition charges at publicly funded institutions. These loans are not dependent on the student's or family's income. Eligible students at private institutions can apply for non-income assessed loans towards the cost of their tuition.
	Loans and grants for living costs are also available for full-time students who are attending their courses. This student finance package offers all full-time students some help towards living costs, but targets the most generous support at students from the lowest income households.

Gambling: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many premises used for gambling there are in the Borough of Havering.

Hugh Robertson: Data held by the Gambling Commission shows there are currently 57 licensed gambling premises in the borough of Havering.

Mobile Phones

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in implementing the mobile infrastructure programme; and which commercial entities are competing to provide network infrastructure.

Edward Vaizey: The Department issued a tender notice for a Mobile Infrastructure Programme (MIP) Supplier in April 2012 and shortlisted six companies in June: Airwave Solutions; Arqiva; BT Wholesale; Ericsson; Telefonica; and Vodafone. Subsequently, BT Wholesale withdrew its interest in July and Ericsson in November. We expect to appoint the MIP supplier next year.

Public Libraries

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether the Arts Council superintends the library service; how contraventions of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 are identified to her; and whether this affects her ability to exercise her statutory duties of oversight of the service.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 19 December 2012
	Under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1954 it is the duty of the Secretary of State to superintend and promote the public library service. The Arts Council England (ACE) contributes to this function by acting as a development agency for libraries, a role they have been administering since October 2011. ACE work closely with, and use their investment to support, local authorities to understand a range of approaches to deliver a modern efficient library service which meet the needs of their local communities. The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 requires all library authorities to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service based on local need within available resources. Where a breach to this statutory duty is considered to have taken place a complaint is made to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), and this does not affect her ability to exercise her statutory duty of superintendence.

Telecommunications: Environment Protection

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State of 5 November 2012, Official Report, column 690, when she intends to publish the code of practice on the siting of electronic communications infrastructure in national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.

Edward Vaizey: The code of best siting practice will apply to all areas where broadband street cabinets and overhead lines need to be installed. The code will be drawn up and agreed by representatives from local authorities and communications providers and published to coincide with the anticipated enactment of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill in the spring of 2013.

EDUCATION

Children: Poverty

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the progress of local authorities in producing child poverty needs assessments and strategies.

Esther McVey: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	Local authorities play a key role in tackling child poverty and the requirement sits on them to produce local child poverty needs assessments and strategies. There is no requirement for local authorities to report to national government on their progress in producing child poverty needs assessments and strategies.
	The Government enables local authorities to share their needs assessments and strategies through the online Child Poverty Knowledge Hub so that they can learn from each other. Sixty eight local authorities have chosen to share their needs assessment and forty two local authorities have shared their strategies.

Free Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the capital and revenue costs of free schools that (a) have been provided to date, (b) are to be provided in 2012-13 and (c) are projected to be provided in 2013-14.

David Laws: Capital costs of Free Schools are published when costs for site acquisition and renovation works have been finalised. 15 schools have had their costs finalised so far and their capital costs have been published on the Department's website at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/freeschools/b0066077/open-free-schools
	The Department provides per pupil revenue funding to Free Schools on the same basis as it does to all state schools. In addition, Free Schools receive funding during pre-opening intended to cover essential costs in developing the school, and post-opening funding to enable schools to cover their initial costs while they are growing their pupil numbers.
	General Annual Grant (per pupil) allocations for Free Schools opening in 2011 and 2012 have been published on the Department's website at:
	www.education.gov.uk/aboutdfe/executiveagencies/efa/efafundinqfinance/b00212650/funding/pre-16-funding-allocations-201213
	Details of the funding provided to Free Schools for pre and post-opening are in the Department's How to apply guide at:
	www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/freeschools/b0074965/apply
	The Department has made provision for the continuation of the Free Schools programme in 2013-14, the actual costs will depend on those proposals which are successful in the selection process. The Department will publish the actual costs of these projects in due course.

Pupils

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether Ofsted considers student turnover rates when evaluating performance of students and schools.

David Laws: This question is a matter for Ofsted. HM chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to the hon. Member, and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Letter from Sir Michael Wilshaw, dated 29 November 2012
	Your recent parliamentary question, received in my office on 28 November 2012, has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector for response.
	Inspectors are given a 'stability' index (which forms part of the contextual data held in RAISEonline) that provides an indication of pupil turnover compared to the average for schools nationally. Where the school stability index is markedly different from the national figure, inspectors would discuss any implications of this with the headteacher.
	In addition, performance data such as value-added data also indicated percentage of pupils (the ‘coverage’) included in the calculation, making it clear which pupils have been taught at the school from start to finish. Where the coverage is much less than 100 per cent, inspectors will discuss the implications of this with the headteacher.
	Inspectors also evaluate the extent to which the school enables all pupils to overcome barriers to learning. In schools with a high turnover of pupils, inspectors will look at how well the school deals with this challenge, including working with external agencies.
	When evaluating the effectiveness of sixth forms, inspectors take account of retention rates, which indicate how many students started a programme of study compared with how many finished it. Inspectors would explore the circumstances in greater detail where retention rates were low.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the way in which the pupil premium is being spent in (a) Westmorland and Lonsdale constituency and (b) England since its introduction.

David Laws: holding answer 30 November 2012
	The Government is very interested in schools' use of the significant funding that it has made available through the Pupil Premium. We have commissioned an external evaluation of the Premium's first year and have asked Ofsted to study how effectively schools are using their Premium funding to close the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.
	Ofsted published their interim study findings on 20 September 2012 and will publish the results of the full study in spring 2013. In addition to this, they have an increased focus on the performance of pupils who attract the Premium, and on how it is used to remove barriers to learning for Premium pupils. Since September 2012, as part of routine school inspection, Ofsted have been holding school leaders to account for how schools have spent their Pupil Premium and what difference this is making to the learning and progress of the pupils concerned. Their judgments on schools' leadership will consider the use of both the Premium and other resources to overcome barriers to achievement for their pupils. In his annual report published in November, Her Majesty's chief inspector has committed Ofsted to paying particular attention to attainment gaps affecting disadvantaged pupils in schools where they form a minority of less than 20% of all pupils.
	We expect schools to be accountable to parents and to their communities, and have taken steps to improve the local information available about the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. First, their educational attainment in each school is now published through the performance tables. In addition, schools receiving the Pupil Premium are required to publish an annual statement online which includes: the school's pupil premium funding for the current academic year; their plans for spending the premium; the funding allocation for the previous academic year and details of how it was spent; and the effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of the school's premium pupils.

Schools: Admissions

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what analysis his Department has conducted on which (a) local authorities and (b) regions in England and Wales are likely to have increased demand for schools places in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15, (iii) 2015-16, (iv) 2016-17, (v) 2012 to 2017 and (vi) any other period between 2012 and 2017;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of how many additional school places are required nationally to meet increased demand for schools in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

David Laws: The Department collects information from each authority on school capacity through an annual survey, which includes local authorities’ own pupil forecasts (five years for primary places and seven years for secondary places). The most recent survey data relates to the position at May 2011 and is available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d001050/index.shtml
	The data shows that the majority of local authorities are anticipating an increase in the number of primary pupils in the period to 2015-16.
	The Department produces its’ own projections of future pupil numbers in schools for the whole of England for each year to January 2020 and is available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/researchandstatistics/datasets/a00201305/dfe-national-pupil-projections-future-trends-in-pupil-numbers-december-2011
	This publication includes charts showing the projected percentage growth in the school-age population between 2010 and 2015, by region.
	The Department has estimated the number of additional school places likely to be required to meet the increase in demand for schools in the academic years up to 2015-16 and these are shown in the following table. These figures are based on local authority and district level analysis and on available capacity in May 2011. Local authorities have added capacity since this time.
	
		
			  2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 
			 Primary(1) 183,000 264,000 340,000 
			 Secondary(1) 21,000 28,000 43,000 
			 (1 )Estimates are based on school capacity as at May 2011 and local authority projections of pupil numbers by academic year.

Schools: Defibrillators

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department plans to provide defibrillators to schools.

David Laws: holding answer 30 November 2012
	There is currently no requirement on schools to have a defibrillator on school premises. It is a matter for individual school to decide whether they have a defibrillator and to arrange for suitable training of the school workforce in its use.

Schools: Uniforms

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has any plans to work with schools to ensure that the cost of school uniforms is kept to a minimum.

David Laws: This is a matter for the school governing body but we have asked governing bodies to give high priority to the cost considerations when setting the school's uniform policy. Our advice available via the following link:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/schoolethos/a0014144/guidance-for-schools-on-school-uniform-and-related-policies
	is that no school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or parents feeling unable to apply to or attend the school of their choice. Some local authorities offer financial support by providing grants to help with the cost of school uniform.
	We have no plans at present to work with schools on this matter, although the Office of Fair Trading wrote to all UK head teachers on 25 October asking them to review the arrangements they make for the sale of school uniforms.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many reported incidents of animal cruelty there have been in England and Wales in the last five years.

David Heath: There is no central record of all cases of reported cruelty to animals. However, the number of offenders found guilty at all courts for “cruelty offences” under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, in England and Wales, from 2007 to 2011, can be viewed in a table, which I will place in the Library of the House.
	The number of offenders found guilty at all courts under section 1 of the Protection of Animals Act 1911, in England and Wales, for the periods from 2007 to 2011, can also be viewed in the table, which I will place in the Library of the House.
	In addition, the RSPCA report that the number of complaints of cruelty to animals investigated by their inspectors was as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2007 137,245 
			 2008 140,575 
			 2009 141,280 
			 2010 159,686 
			 2011 159,759 
		
	
	The RSPCA figures are the numbers of cases reported by their inspectors and do not include cases resolved before inspectors' involvement.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many transport failures there have been which have required the unexpected unloading and reloading of live animals for export at (a) ports and (b) other locations in the UK in the last five years.

David Heath: No centralised records of such events are available.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what specific training is provided for (a) farmers, (b) traders, (c) assembly-centre operators and (d) employees at ports involved in the trade of live animals for export via UK ports in accordance with EU Council Regulations.

David Heath: The EU legislation (Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005) requires that all transporters of animals and personnel at assembly centres are trained in the relevant technical rules laid down in Annex I to that legislation. In addition, those transporting the major species of livestock must obtain a certificate of competence, the format of which is set out in Chapter III of Annex IV of the same legislation. Other than transporters of animals, there is no requirement for any other personnel at ports to be trained or to obtain a certificate of competence.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what liaison there is between Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency inspectors and inspectors overseas on the whole-journey animal welfare considerations of live animals which originate from the UK for export to other countries.

David Heath: Article 24 of Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 requires that each member state has a national contact point to provide a single point of contact for the exchange of information and mutual assistance in relation to cross-border trade. Animal Health Veterinary Laboratory Agency (AHVLA) will report any concerns or channel any requests for information from other member states, through this contact point in DEFRA's Animal Welfare team. Any infringements found in relation to transporters authorised in other member states will be reported to that member state in line with article 26(3) of the regulation. Similarly, any infringement or query on the operation of UK transporters in other member states will be reported to the national contact point in DEFRA who will liaise with AHVLA on what action needs to be taken in accordance with article 26(4) of the regulation.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the major final European destinations are of (a) sheep, (b) pigs, (c) cattle and (d) horses sent as live animal exports from the UK.

David Heath: The following figures have been obtained from the EU Commission's TRACES Data Warehouse and show the largest four importers for each species of animals from the UK. The last column reflects the total number to all countries for the current year to date 2012.
	
		
			 Live animals exported from UK 
			  Numbers exported to the main countries of destination  
			  Country Number Country Number Country Number Country Number Total number of exported animals 
			 Sheep Belgium 8,827 France 23,670 Ireland 338,682 Netherlands 13,672 388,394 
			 Pigs Belgium 319 Spain 653 Ireland 5,795 Malta 529 7,643 
			 Cattle Spain 20,472 France 2,022 Ireland 14,830 Italy 973 38,901 
			 Horses Belgium 1,099 Spain 899 Germany 1,365 Netherlands 1,183 6,973

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether there have been any changes in the ability of RSPCA inspectors to inspect live animal exports at ports or in transit since the High Court judgment of October 2012.

David Heath: RSPCA inspectors have no statutory powers to inspect either road vehicles using the ferry, nor the vessel itself, at ports or in transit. The recent High Court Order did not change that situation. When export consignments are inspected either in transit or at ports, it is up to the RSPCA to seek permission from the transporter to inspect their vehicle or, where relevant, the vessel.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what factors were taken into account by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency inspectors in the decision to allow the transportation of live animals on 21 November 2012 from Ramsgate; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: There were no additional factors in relation to the decision by Animal Health Veterinary Laboratory Agency (AHVLA) to allow the transportation of live animals on 21 November 2012. The decision to sail was made by the captain of the vessel. Prior to the sailing, AHVLA implemented its normal adverse weather procedures. This is a check that involves AHVLA seeking clarification from the captain of the vessel that he is satisfied it is safe for him and the vessel to sail. Also, that there would be no risk to the welfare of the livestock being shipped. The captain confirmed to AHVLA staff that he was satisfied it was safe on both counts. In addition, AHVLA contacted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) which is responsible for all issues relating to the seaworthiness of the vessel, including any limitations on it sailing during rough weather. The MCA confirmed that the weather conditions were windy, with low wave height and moderate sea. This was in line with those weather details given to AHVLA by the captain of the vessel. There was no indication at that time that the weather conditions would deteriorate to such a degree that the sailing would need to be aborted.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will carry out a full review into the animal welfare considerations of the live export trade from the UK.

David Heath: The Government has no plans to carry out such a review.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has made an assessment of the recommendation of the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development Report on the protection of animals during transport.

David Heath: Yes. The Government agrees with many of the findings including the call for better enforcement of existing welfare in transport legislation across the EU and acknowledgement that there is no scientific basis for a ban on journeys over eight hours for all major species of livestock.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he has made an assessment of the effects of the conditions under which live animals are transported over significant distances on the risk of transmission and spread of diseases.

David Heath: The EU legislation on animal welfare during transport (Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005) acknowledges that the unloading and subsequent reloading of animals could be a source of stress to animals and could also, in certain conditions, lead to the spread of infectious diseases. For this reason the legislation strengthened the conditions under which control posts used for resting livestock have to operate (amending Council Regulation (EC) 1255/97) and introduced detailed journey logs that have to be completed by the transporter at certain stages of the journey.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of conducting animal slaughter and meat processing at the closest possible proximity to the breeding location.

David Heath: The Government is in favour of a trade in meat and germ plasm in preference to one in live animals. It also believes that slaughter and subsequent processing should be as close to the place of production as possible.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the conclusion of the Commission Report presenting the state of implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 that severe problems during animal transport persist mainly due to poor compliance and implementation by member states.

David Heath: At the Agriculture Council meeting on 18 June 2012, the report by the Commission was discussed. The former DEFRA Minister of State, the right hon. Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Sir James Paice), entered the following statement for the Minutes, which summarises this Government's position on the report:
	"The UK agrees with the EU Commission that the number one priority is better enforcement of the existing legislation on welfare during transport, across the EU. However, in addition, it would like to see a review of long journey rules to take account of existing and emerging scientific evidence, including that highlighted by the recent EFSA report, particularly in relation to revising the journey time down to a maximum of 12 hours for horses going to slaughter. We also wish to see discussion on greater protection for infant livestock, particularly calves, taking into account the Commission's own written guidance on the treatment of unweaned calves on long journeys and considering the very long distances some unweaned calves have to travel, which can involve multiple cycles of 19 hour journeys. We believe it is important that the rules should be updated where there is sufficient evidence to support such change. We note that the recent EFSA report does not include any recommendation suggesting that all major species of livestock going to slaughter should face the same maximum journey length in all cases."

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure UK compliance with Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 Point (5) on the transport of animals over long journeys, including animals for slaughter.

David Heath: UK compliance with Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005, including compliance with the rules on journey times and resting periods contained in Chapter V of Annex I, is routinely monitored and reported by the EU Commission through audit inspections by their Food and Veterinary Office (FVO).

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the (a) major regional sources and (b) regional economic effects are of the UK trade in live animals for export for (i) sheep, (ii) pigs, (iii) cattle and (iv) horses.

David Heath: No assessment has been made by the Government of the major regional sources of livestock going for export or on the regional economic impact these exports might have. Live animals going for export make up a tiny fraction of those animals that are transported for slaughter within the UK.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many on-the-spot checks have been made by veterinary experts from the European Commission in collaboration with the authorities of the member state in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 45 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004(21) of the European Parliament and of the Council in each of the last five years.

David Heath: The Food and Veterinary Office of the EU Commission undertakes regular audit inspection visits to the UK to assess compliance with Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005. During these visits, FVO inspectors will undertake accompanied inspections of farms, markets, ports and any other place of rest or transfer that they believe will assist them in their audit. No records of the number of these visits are held centrally.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he last met EU Commissioner Borg or his predecessor to discuss the live animal export trade from the UK to other EU countries.

David Heath: There have been no meetings between the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Commissioner Borg, or his predecessor Commissioner Dalli specifically to discuss the animal export trade. However, the subject was raised informally by the former Minister of State, the right hon. Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Sir James Paice), with Commissioner Dalli, on a number of occasions.

Animals: Exports

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will give consideration to revising the coalition agreement to include a policy to prevent the live export of animals.

David Heath: No. Such a policy would be illegal. However, the Government will continue to ensure that those that transport livestock for slaughter follow the rules on such trade and any infringements of the legislation will lead to the appropriate enforcement action being taken.

Ash Dieback Disease

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many trees in national parks have contracted ash dieback disease; and what the estimated cost is of felling those diseased trees.

David Heath: There are currently four confirmed infections in total that lie within national park boundaries, three in England and one in Scotland. There is one known site of infection in each of the following national parks.
	England
	Lake District—Recent Planting (this incidence of infection was added to Forestry Commission (FC) “Chalara” maps on 20 November 2012).
	The Broads—Wider Environment (this incidence of infection was added to FC “Chalara” maps on 20 November 2012).
	Dartmoor—Recent Planting (this incidence of infection was added to FC “Chalara” maps on 9 November 2012).
	Scotland
	Cairngorms—Recent Planting (this incidence of infection was added to FC “Chalara” maps on 8 November 2012).
	Newly-planted diseased trees and diseased plants and trees in nurseries will be traced and destroyed, as once young trees are infected they succumb quickly. The cost of this work has not yet been estimated. More mature trees will not currently be removed, as they are valuable to wildlife, take longer to die and can help us learn more about genetic strains that might be resistant to the disease.

Ash Dieback Disease

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Food and Environment Research Agency will publish the results of the consultation on the Rapid Assessment of chalara fraxinea.

David Heath: The replies to the consultation have been valuable in developing a control plan, which is due for completion and publication in December. The results of the consultation will be published at the same time.

Ash Dieback Disease

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects the Food and Environment Research Agency to submit a summary of the monitoring of ash dieback to the European Commission.

David Heath: The first finding of ash dieback in the UK was reported to the European Commission in March 2012 and updates given to the June, September, October and November meetings of the Commission's Standing Committee on plant health. We will continue to report significant developments to the Standing Committee at its monthly meetings.

Ash Dieback Disease

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost to local authorities of (a) felling and burning and (b) managing in situ, trees infected with ash dieback disease.

David Heath: We have not made any estimates of these costs. We are currently developing a control plan for delivering our objectives for tackling “Chalara fraxinea”. Until this is in place we will not be in a position to consider the cost of managing the outbreak.

Climate Change

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of climate change on recent (a) flooding and (b) other extreme weather events in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: It is too soon to make any such assessment. It is very difficult to attribute particular flood events to the effects of climate change. However, more extreme rainfall events, with increasing flood risk, are one of the likely effects and the Government is aware of one study which suggests that climate change increased the risk of floods during autumn 2000. DEFRA will keep such evidence under review.
	DEFRA has made an assessment of anticipated changes in river flows and sea levels based on UK Climate Projections 2009. Guidance has been provided on how these changes should be taken into account by flood risk management authorities when apprising flood defence schemes.
	The Government laid the Climate Change Risk Assessment before Parliament in January 2012. This is an independent research project that analyses the key risks and opportunities that changes to the climate bring to the UK across 11 key sectors.

Dangerous Dogs

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he plans to take to help reduce the number of attacks on assistance dogs; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: DEFRA has proposed a package of measures aimed at tackling irresponsible dog ownership and reducing the number of dog attacks generally, including attacks on assistance dogs. We have also been working closely with the Home Office to ensure that their new measures to deal with antisocial behaviour will also include such behaviour where it involves dogs. DEFRA's proposals were subject to recent public consultation and we are finalising the analysis of the 27,000 or so responses before making an announcement on a way forward shortly.

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people were prosecuted in 2011 under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: The number of persons proceeded against at all magistrates courts for offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 in England and Wales in 2011 was 1,485.

Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the effect of dredging and maintaining watercourses on levels of recent flooding; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of drainage on the level of recent flooding; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: The Environment Agency has not made an assessment of the effect of dredging and maintaining watercourses or of drainage on the levels of recent flooding.
	However, in 2010 the Environment Agency carried out a pilot study at several locations in England to assess the effect of dredging and other watercourse maintenance, such as de-silting and removing gravel and obstructions, on flood risk to people and property.
	The study showed that watercourse maintenance can reduce flood risk locally but it is not suitable in all locations and should be considered on a location-by-location basis.
	Where it is not suitable other flood risk measures, such as building walls or embankments to protect property, providing storage upstream or changing land use or land management practices, can be more effective.
	The study report and further details on watercourse maintenance are available on the Environment Agency's website.

Floods: Sewers

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons he has not brought into force the sustainable drainage provisions in Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA remains fully committed to implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, i.e. sustainable drainage systems. Progress has been made to encourage the use of sustainable drainage systems. For example, the National Planning Policy Framework says that when determining planning applications, local planning authorities should ensure flood risk is not increased elsewhere and that it gives priority to the use of sustainable drainage systems.
	On implementing the provision of the Act, DEFRA has worked closely with key stakeholders and technical experts (including the Environment Agency, local authorities, developers and water companies) to develop draft National Standards and proposals for implementation, and these were consulted on earlier in 2012. On 13 August 2012, DEFRA published the summary of responses to the consultation on proposals to implement the requirements for sustainable drainage systems in England.
	The consultation responses raised a number of issues that require more work and clarification before the policy is implemented. DEFRA officials will be engaging with stakeholders to work towards solutions to the challenging issues that need to be resolved to ensure implementation is effective.

Forests

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Forestry Commission spent on advertising its bio-security protocols for the periods (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12; and how much it plans to spend in 2012-13.

David Heath: The Forestry Commission has spent no money on advertising biosecurity protocols during these periods. However, a range of activities have been undertaken to communicate plant health issues and biosecurity guidance. Details are provided as follows:
	2009-10
	Three Plant Health Days delivered by Forest Research.
	Working with the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) on a stakeholder engagement as part of the main Phytophthora Programme (staff time 22 days).
	2010-11
	Working with Fera on communications as part of the main Phytophthora programme (250 days of staff time). This included public awareness;
	production of two films on bio-security; a stand at the Chelsea Flower Show, which featured biosecurity (cost: £20,000).
	Three Plant Health Days delivered by Forest Research.
	South West Phytophthora ramorum stakeholder seminars (cost: £2,000).
	2011-12
	Working with Fera on communications as part of the main Phytophthora programme, and subsequently the Tree Health Plant Bio-security action plan 300 days staff time—general public awareness; films; Chelsea Show (£20,000).
	Produced 5000 biosecurity guidance z-cards, (cost: £1,800).
	£1,000 spent on North West P.ramorum events.
	Two events on Oak Processionary Moth.
	P.ramorum Forest Health day jointly with Forest Research, (cost: £1,700).
	2012-13
	Working with Fera on Tree Health and Plant Biosecurity communications: 410 days staff time. Direct costs approx £20,000 for the Chelsea show in May 2013, further £20,000 for the two films. Also produced a suite of bio-security posters £1,500.
	Produced 40,000 more biosecurity guidance z-cards, (cost: £4,000).
	APF sector event biosecurity banners (cost: £280).
	Plant health updates for Land Agents (cost: £2,700).
	South West Woodlands Show, Phytophthora ramorum awareness (cost: £2,445).
	Three Plant Health Days delivered by Forest Research, biosecurity is a part of these.
	Phytophthora Ramorum communications toolkit and events (cost: £4,500).
	Oak Processionary Moth communications toolkit and events (cost: £3,500).
	Chalara Communications toolkit (cost: £15,000).
	Chalara symptoms video (cost: £1,800).
	Tree health reporting smartphone app (cost: £8,000).

Foxes: Urban Areas

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the number of urban foxes in (a) England, (b) London, (c) Lancashire and (d) Hyndburn constituency.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has not made an estimate of the population of foxes over the last 10 years. Fox population figure estimates for British mammals, published by the Mammal Society in 2004, indicate that the fox population in Great Britain was around 258,000.

Polar Bears

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he has received any representations from the Canadian government on the US administration's proposal to add polar bears to CITES Appendix I.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA has not received any representations from the Canadian Government about the USA's proposal to include the polar bear in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Representatives from Canada (and the USA) will be attending EU meetings in early December at which the UK will be represented to discuss the proposal. We look forward to hearing their views.

Seas and Oceans: Scotland

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how he plans to ensure that the sustainable development of the marine environment will be plan-led rather than development-led under the revised timetable for the Scottish National Marine Plan.

Richard Benyon: The marine policy statement agreed and published by the UK Government and devolved Administrations in 2011 sets out the policies that will contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in the UK marine area. It provides the framework for the preparation of all marine plans and for all decisions affecting the UK marine area. The Scottish Government's approach to marine planning and decision making is the responsibility of the Scottish Government within the framework of the agreed marine policy statement.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's budget is for the promotion of access to work to (a) disabled people and (b) employers.

Mark Hoban: The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) does not have a single budget for the promotion of Access to Work (AtW) to either disabled people or employers. The Department's approach to raising awareness of the ATW provision is to work through the Specialist Disability Employment Team (SDEP) umbrella, which promotes social inclusion for the disabled across the labour market.
	Expenditure to raise disability awareness will therefore be made by a number of functions within DWP, and is not attributed to a single customer group. Increasingly, awareness is raised by directing inquiries to the Government’s digital channel through the You Gov Portal, and the AtW website has an average of 850 visits per week.

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have applied for access to work have not had their support preferences fully met; and for what reasons in each such case.

Esther McVey: Access to Work is a specialist disability programme delivered by Jobcentre Plus, providing practical advice and support to disabled people and their employers, helping them overcome work related obstacles, resulting from disability. Access to Work funds the support that is beyond what an employer should provide, as reasonable adjustments.
	Customer's work related support needs are assessed and the Access to Work adviser negotiates agreements with the customer and their employer, about the support that will be provided and the contribution that Access to Work will make. Access to Work aims to ensure that every eligible customer's support needs are fully met.
	Customers who are unhappy with the support offered by Access to Work can ask for their application to be reconsidered. Since April 2012, 162 customers have asked for their application to be reconsidered and in 82 cases the original decision was changed. Of the 80 cases where the original decision was upheld, 18 people asked for review by a more senior person and of these five were successful in having the original decision overturned. The subsequent decision, whether upheld or overturned, is fed back to the original adviser and the adviser's manager, helping improve the quality of future decision making.

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people applied for access to work but did not receive it in each of the last five years by (a) impairment type, (b) constituency, (c) size of employer, (d) age that people started receiving access to work and (e) gender.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received access to work in each of the last five years by (a) impairment type, (b) constituency, (c) size of employer, (d) age that people started receiving access to work and (e) gender.

Esther McVey: Information on size of employer is not available. The tables, which I will place in the Library, show the number of individuals helped by the Access to Work programme in each of the last five financial years between 1 April 2007 and 31 March 2012. The figures are broken down further by primary medical condition, parliamentary constituency, age and gender.

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of administering access to work is; and what proportion of that cost was due to (a) applications, (b) assessments, (c) review, (d) monitoring and (e) processing payments.

Mark Hoban: The administrative spend for the 12 months to March 2012 was £7.2 million, and for the seven months to the end of October 2012 £4.0 million.
	The requested breakdown of the administrative cost is not available.

Access to Work Programme

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the reasons for the reduction in the number of disabled people receiving support through access to work; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: In 2010, the Department brought in changes such as cost share and a standard equipment list to clarify the sort of support we would not expect Access to Work to fund. However the list has not always operated as effectively as it might have done, and may have discouraged some applications.
	This is why on 19 November I announced a range of measures aimed at strengthening and improving the Access to Work scheme. These included:
	The removal of the standard list of equipment from guidance. Instead Access to Work advisers will work constructively with employer and employee to identify where Access to Work can assist.
	Removing cost share for employers who employ between 10 and 49 people. This brings these relatively small businesses in line with provisions that already exist for micro businesses.

Carer’s Allowance

Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will ensure that the introduction of personal independence payments will not result in a (a) loss of carer's allowance from existing claimants and (b) reduction in the projected future caseload for carer's allowance.

Esther McVey: The available information on the impact of PIP on carer's allowance is published in the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Impact Assessment (May 2012). The impact on carer's is covered in paragraphs 23-26. This can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dla-reform-wr2011-ia.pdf
	DWP publishes information on forecasted caseloads and expenditure on a range of benefits, including carer's allowance, at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure

Disability Living Allowance

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households identified as being affected by the benefit cap contain at least one person in receipt of disability living allowance.

Mark Hoban: Within the benefit cap household definition, all households, who have at least one member receiving disability living allowance will be exempt from the benefit cap, therefore there will be no households affected.
	For the purposes of the benefit cap, a household or family unit refers to the benefit claimant, their partner (if they have one) and any child or qualifying young person for whom that adult or couple are responsible for and who lives with them. Some houses may comprise of more than one household unit for the purpose of income-related benefits, for example, where an adult child is in receipt of disability living allowance in their own right. In this example, the household benefit unit comprising the DLA recipient's parent(s) would not be exempt.

Employment and Support Allowance

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households identified as being subject to the benefit cap contain at least one person in receipt of employment and support allowance support group.

Mark Hoban: All households who have at least one member receiving employment and support allowance (support component) will be exempt from the benefit cap, therefore none will be affected.
	For the purposes of the benefit cap, a household or family unit refers to the benefit claimant, their partner (if they have one) and any child or qualifying young person for whom that adult or couple is responsible and who lives with them. Some houses may comprise of more than one household unit for the purpose of income related benefits, for example, where an adult child is in receipt of the support component of employment and support allowance in their own right. In this example, the household benefit unit comprising the ESA recipient's parent(s) would not be exempt.

Housing and Council Tax Benefits

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local authorities operate a 100 per cent disregard of the war disablement pension and widow's pension for housing and council tax benefit claims; whether his Department issues guidance on the level of disregard local authorities should provide; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: Housing benefit and council tax benefit regulations permit local authorities to disregard beyond the standard disregard of £10 a week the whole or part of any war disablement pensions, war widow's pensions, war widower's pensions and guaranteed income payments under the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme. Departmental housing benefit and council tax benefit guidance for local authorities makes this clear.
	Having made such a modification a local authority may revoke or vary it at any time. This Department does not hold information about whether and the extent to which individual local authorities apply the discretionary disregard.

Housing Benefit

Chris Skidmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) highest and (b) median weekly housing benefit claim was in each (i) local authority area and (ii) parliamentary constituency in each year since 1997-98.

Steve Webb: Information on individual level weekly housing benefit amounts prior to November 2008 is not held by the Department.
	Information on individual level weekly housing benefit amounts by parliamentary constituency prior to 2012 is not readily available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	It is not possible to give the highest weekly housing benefit award for any individual due to data disclosure issues. The available information for (a) the payment band in which the highest individual award falls and (b) the median weekly housing benefit award by local authority, from 2009 to 2012, and parliamentary constituency, for 2012, will be placed in the Library.

Hyperactivity

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have received support from (a) Access to Work, (b) Work Programme and (c) Work Choice in (i) Vauxhall constituency and (ii) England and Wales since May 2010;
	(2)  how many people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder his Department has helped into employment since May 2010.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available for Access to Work, Work Choice or Work programme customers. The Department does not collect information on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder for those on out-of-work benefits.

Industrial Diseases

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been diagnosed with a reportable industrially-related disease in the UK in the last five years.

Mark Hoban: The number of new cases of occupational diseases reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) in Great Britain during the last five years (2007-08 to 2011-12) was 9,397 and is summarised in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of reported disease cases under RIDDOR 
			 2007-08 1,920 
			 2008-09 1,969 
			 2009-10 1,789 
			 2010-11 1,774 
			 2011-12 1,945 
			 Total 9,397 
		
	
	Information from a variety of data sources indicates that the number of new cases of diseases reported each year under RIDDOR is likely to be a substantial underestimate of the total number of diagnoses that are reportable according to the RIDDOR criteria.

Social Security Benefits

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households had been contacted by his Department advising them that they may be affected by the household benefit cap by September 2011; and how many were (a) couples with children, (b) couples without children, (c) single person households, (d) lone parents, (e) households with one to four children, (f) households with five or more children, (g) private tenants, (f) tenants of social landlords and (g) in temporary or emergency accommodation.

Mark Hoban: Households were sent letters notifying them that they may be affected by the incoming benefit cap in May 2013. The first direct mail letters were sent in May 2012 and further letters were sent in July 2012 and September 2012 for new cases. Information on the number of letters sent has previously been published by the department here:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=adhoc_analysis
	The published figures show each of the categories requested.
	No letters were sent out prior to May 2012.

Social Security Benefits

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of (a) households and (b) individuals who (i) became liable to the household benefit cap and (ii) ceased to be liable to benefit cap (A) nationally and (B) in each region in the most recent month for which figures are available.

Mark Hoban: The Department has published information, through its impact assessment and ad hoc statistical releases, regarding the number of households and individuals it expects may be impacted by the benefit cap when it is introduced from April 2013. This information is available at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=adhoc_analysis
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/benefit-cap-wr2011-ia.pdf
	By using the number of letters sent to households and individuals as a proxy, a comparison can be made to the number of households and individuals who were liable for the household benefit cap. Although figures for the most recent month are not available, the number of letters sent to households and individuals between the July direct mail and the start of the September direct mail can be found at the national level in the published information. Information is not available to answer the remaining parts of the question.

Work Capability Assessment

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the ability of the work capability assessment to establish the capability to work of a person with a fluctuating medical condition.

Mark Hoban: The assessment already gives people with fluctuating conditions the opportunity to explain how their condition varies over time.
	The health care professionals who carry out the WCA are trained to ask about and take account of fluctuation. The assessment is not a snapshot—if a person cannot carry out a function repeatedly and reliably they will be treated as unable to carry out that function at all.
	In his second independent review of the work capability assessment, Professor Harrington addressed the particular concerns raised by the way the WCA works for people with fluctuating conditions. He asked leading charities, to make recommendations to refine the physical descriptors used in the WCA and the Department is currently working closely with the charities to create a strong evidence base for suggested changes to both the physical and the mental descriptors.

Work Capability Assessment

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish the guidance his Department provides to Atos Healthcare for delivery of work capability assessments.

Mark Hoban: The central guidance, the WCA handbook for Atos health care professionals, is already published online:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wca-handbook.pdf

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions based on the Work programme data published by his Department on 27 November 2012, what is the Key Performance Measure after 12 months, as defined in the Invitation to Tender for the Programme, for (a) JSA 18 to 24, (b) JSA 25 and over and (c) ESA flow.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on Work programme referrals, attachments and job outcomes for (a) JSA 18 to 24, (b) JSA 25 and over and (c) ESA flow can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users is available at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Work programme participants have obtained job outcomes; and how many were (a) men, (b) women and (c) from an ethnic minority.

Mark Hoban: Statistics on how many Work programme participants have obtained job outcomes; and how many were (a) men, (b) women and (c) from an ethnic minority can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool
	Guidance for users can be found at:
	http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Work programme participants who have obtained job outcomes since June 2011 had previously been unemployed for (a) more than 12, (b) more than 24 and (c) more than 36 months.

Mark Hoban: This information is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many participants in the Work programme have started an apprenticeship since June 2011.

Mark Hoban: The Department does not hold this information. Participants who start apprenticeships is not recorded separately from other Work programme job outcome statistics.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average number of sustainment payments made subsequently to their Work programme provider has been in respect of Work Programme participants who have secured job outcomes.

Mark Hoban: The following table shows the number of Work programme sustainment payments per paid job outcome by provider.
	As the Work programme has not been in place long enough for a significant number of job outcomes to accrue the maximum number of possible sustainment payments these figures should be considered as indicative and will be subject to change over time as the programme reaches steady state.
	To maintain consistency with released statistics and to allow reasonable time to allow job outcomes to accrue sustainment payments, job outcomes and sustainments paid after the end of July 2012 have been excluded from the table.
	It will be some time before we can give firm results. For example, we will not be able to provide definitive ratios of sustainments to job outcomes for payment groups with 13 four week sustainment payments until mid 2013 and mid 2014 for those payment groups with 26 four week sustainment payments.
	
		
			 Table 1: Sustainments paid per paid job outcome (for job outcomes paid up to end July 2012) 
			 Work programme provider Average number of sustainment payments 
			 All 1.87 
			 Reed in Partnership 2.16 
			 Pertemps 2.28 
			 Ingeus UK LTD 2.10 
			 Working Links 2.15 
			 Careers Development Group 1.67 
			 Business Employment Services 1.74 
			 JHP Group Ltd 2.18 
			 Seetec 1.14 
			 Serco Ltd 1.95 
			 A4E Ltd 1.54 
			 Newcastle College Group 1.29 
			 Avanta Enterprise Ltd 2.20 
			 EOS-Works Ltd 2.39 
			 Maximus Employment UK Ltd 1.64 
			 Prospects Services Ltd 0.09 
			 G4S 2.26 
			 Rehab Jobfit 0.79 
			 ESG 1.77 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are given to two decimal places. 2. Job outcomes: The Work programme IT payment system update went live in April 2012. All outcomes prior to this were recorded clerically and uploaded to the system during April and May 2012. The outcome date for these is based on the date the information was uploaded to the system. For job outcomes recorded after this, outcome dates are based on the date that payments were made to providers following pre-payment validation processes to confirm job outcomes. The manual pre-payment validation checks may take time to conduct resulting in a delay between the job outcome being claimed and the date the payment is made to providers, and hence recorded in the statistics. Validation procedures continue to improve to streamline the process as issues are identified. For further details around issues and delays to job outcome payments please see the information note available here: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page-wp 3. Sustainments are only paid once a job outcome has been achieved and paid by DWP. 4. Sustainments can be paid for up to 13, 20 or 26 four week periods depending on payment group after a paid job outcome has been achieved. 5. The Work programme has not been in place long enough for any job outcome to reach its maximum number of sustainment payments. The first job outcomes achieved from September 2012. Source: DWP Information, Governance and Security Directorate (IGS)

JUSTICE

Civil Proceedings: Mental Capacity

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many people whose litigation capacity was challenged were found (a) incapacitous and (b) to actually have capacity in each year since 2005;
	(2)  how many people have applied to have their litigation capacity reinstated in each year since 2005; and how many of those applications were granted;
	(3)  how many times the Official Solicitor has been requested to review his appointment for a person deemed not to have litigation capacity in each year since 2005; and in how many cases he has concluded that he was wrongly appointed in each such year;
	(4)  how many people who were found to be incapacitous had a litigation friend appointed in each of the last five years.

Helen Grant: The information requested is not available centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Community Orders

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost of introducing punitive elements to all community orders in a full financial year.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice published its response to the “Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Sentences” consultation on 23 October 2012. The impact assessment that we published alongside the Government response estimated that the cost of introducing a punitive requirement to all community orders could be between £15 million and £40 million per year.
	The full impact assessment that MOJ published alongside the Government response can be found on the MOJ website on the following webpage:
	https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/effective-community-services-1/results/community-sentences-response-ia.pdf

Community Orders

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of whether the inclusion of a punitive element in a community order will improve reoffending rates.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice published its response to the ‘Punishment and Reform: Effective Community Sentences’ consultation on 23 October 2012. We are legislating to require courts to include a punitive element in every community sentence unless there are exceptional circumstances.
	We have undertaken research to determine the relative effectiveness of community order requirements at reducing reoffending, for offenders with similar characteristics. This research indicates that certain punitive requirements can, reduce reoffending behaviour depending on the combinations of other requirements with which punitive requirements are used.
	This research is published on the MOJ website and can be located on the following webpage:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/research-and-analysis/moj-research/niesr-report.pdf

Debt Collection

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he last met trade and representative bodies from the enforcement and bailiff industry.

Helen Grant: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), has not met with any trade or representative bodies from the enforcement and bailiff industry.

Debt Collection

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to issue a response to the consultation on Transforming bailiff action which closed on 14 May 2012.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice is currently finalising the Government response to this consultation paper and will issue this in due course.

Drugs: Children

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children have been (a) prosecuted and (b) imprisoned for (i) all and (ii) Class A drugs offences in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: The number of juveniles (ages 10 to 17) proceeded against at magistrates courts and sentenced at all courts for all drug offences and all Class A drug offences, in England and Wales, for the years 2009 to 2011, can be viewed in the following table.
	
		
			 Juveniles (1)  proceeded against at magistrates courts and sentenced at all courts for all drug offences and all Class A drug offences, England and Wales, 2009 - 11 (2,3) 
			 Offence Outcome 2009 2010 2011 
			 Total drug offences(4) Proceeded against 6,969 6,676 5,758 
			  Sentenced—of which: 6,309 5,914 5,157 
			  Immediate custody 223 222 181 
			      
			 Drug offences relating to Class A drugs(5) Proceeded against 834 786 671 
			  Sentenced—of which: 663 606 537 
			  Immediate custody 167 138 116 
			 (1) Includes defendants aged between 10 and 17 years old. (2) The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Includes unlawful importation and exportation of, inciting another to supply, possession of, production of, supply of, and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of class A, B, C or unspecified class plus other miscellaneous indictable and summary drug offences. (5) Includes all offences listed under footnote 4 where it is specifically known that the offence applies to a Class A controlled drug. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services— Ministry of Justice

Legal Aid Scheme

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the total (a) budget and (b) amount of money spent on legal aid was in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The funding, provision for legal aid forms part of the overall departmental spending limit for the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The overall spending limit specifically includes a budget provision for legal aid. The MOJ'S budget may change throughout the year and the amount spent on legal aid can and has exceeded the final published budget for legal aid in some years. However, the MOJ has remained within its overall spending limit.
	The following table sets out the latest grant in aid for legal aid and spending for each of the last five years:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Legal aid expenditure (cash) 2,03l 2,105 2,149 2,134 2,039 
			 Last published legal aid sub delegation (grant in aid) 2,050 2,099 2,145 2,193 2,066

Lincoln Prison

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) capital expenditure and (b) revenue costs were for HM Prison Lincoln in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The capital and resource expenditure for HMP Lincoln for the last five financial years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Description 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Major capital 0.4 1.5 3.1 6.8 3.7 
			 Local capital acquisitions 0.021 0.174 0.080 0.024 0.046 
			 Resource expenditure 15.4 15.6 15.5 14.5 14.0 
			 Notes: 1. Figures subject to rounding. 2. The capitalisation threshold increased from £5,000 to £10,000 from 1 April 2010. 3. Figures may not be directly comparable over time due to changes in scope and accounting treatment. 
		
	
	The resource and local capital expenditure is that met directly by the establishment and excludes expenditure met at regional or national level. Local capital acquisitions include purchases of plant and mechanical equipment, and machinery. Expenditure on major capital works is that met at regional or national level.

Offences Against Children: Convictions

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many British citizens have been convicted in UK courts for sexual offences against children abroad since extra-territorial legislation came into force in the UK.

Jeremy Wright: Court proceedings data held centrally in an aggregated format by the Ministry of Justice provides information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought, but not all the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to identify separately identify from this centrally held information the jurisdiction in which offences have taken place, nor the nationality of each defendant.

Offensive Weapons: Sentencing

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many individuals have (a) been prosecuted for and (b) subsequently received a custodial sentence for an offence of carrying a bladed or pointed article in a public place in England and Wales in each of the last seven years.

Jeremy Wright: The number of individuals proceeded against at magistrates court and sentenced to an immediate custody at all courts for having a bladed or pointed article in a public place in England and Wales, from 2005 to 2011 can be viewed in the table:
	
		
			 Defendants proceeded against at magistrates court and sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for “Having an article with blade or point in public place” (1) , England and Wales, 2005-11 (2,3) 
			  Proceeded against Immediate custody 
			 2005 7,277 965 
			 2006 7,654 1,070 
			 2007 7,356 1,060 
			 2008(4) 7,466 1,373 
			 2009 9,132 1,671 
			 2010 7,972 1,403 
			 2011 7,590 1,529 
			 (1) Criminal Justice Act 1988 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996, S139. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress has been made on the prisoner transfer agreement between the UK and Iraq in relation to Danny Fitzsimons.

Jeremy Wright: Discussions with Iraq are taking place on the possibility of a prisoner transfer agreement. Such an agreement would enable Iraqi nationals imprisoned in the UK, and British nationals imprisoned in Iraq, to serve their sentences in their own country. Negotiation of prisoner transfer agreements can take some time and it is not possible to say when the discussions with Iraq will be concluded.

Probation

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders currently under supervision by probation trusts have been assessed as (a) tier 1, (b) tier 2, (c) tier 3 and (d) tier 4.

Jeremy Wright: The number of offenders supervised by probation trusts under court orders by tier as at 30 June 2012 is provided in the following table. Supervision tier is the level of intervention required with offenders, with tier 1 being the lowest and tier 4 the highest.
	
		
			 Offenders supervised by the Probation Service at end of period under court orders by tier, June 2012, England and Wales 
			  Number 
			 Community orders: 80,403 
			 Tier 1 (Low) 21,534 
			 Tier 2 (Low/Medium) 19,802 
			 Tier 3 (Medium/High) 34,679 
			 Tier 4 (High) 4,206 
			 Tier not stated 182 
			   
			 Suspended Sentence Orders: 40326 
			 Tier 1 (Low) 9,036 
			 Tier 2 (Low/Medium) 10,933 
			 Tier 3 (Medium/High) 18,054 
			 Tier 4 (High) 2,425 
			 Tier not stated 78 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prostitution

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on which occasions (a) officials and (b) Ministers of his Department met representatives of other Government departments to determine policy on prostitution since May 2010.

Damian Green: The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the criminal law on prostitution; the overall lead in this area lies with the Home Office. There have been a number of meetings between my officials and their counterparts in the Home Office on the subject of prostitution during the period referred to.

Public Expenditure

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how the funding received by his Department from the Treasury Reserve was spent in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Jeremy Wright: The information on drawdown from the Treasury Reserve is published in the Departmental Supplementary Estimates. The details for 2010-11 and 2011-12 can be seen using the following links. In addition, we have also produced the drawdown details in the following table.
	2010-11 Winter Supplementary Estimates
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/8486.htm
	2010-11 Spring Supplementary Estimates
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_pse_spring10_11.htm
	2011-12 Supplementary Estimate
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/psr_pse_201112.htm
	
		
			 Details of drawdown from the Treasury Reserve 
			 2010-11 
			 Supplementary Estimate Type of funding Amount (£ million) Purpose 
			 Winter DEL 139.0 Drawdown of resource reserve claim in relation to the Carter Prisons Capacity programme 
			     
			 Spring DEL 36.0 End Year Flexibility (EYF) drawdown of voted resource in relation to the work force modernisation 
			   17.0 EYF drawdown of voted resource in relation to Pleural Plaques Compensation 
			   1.4 EYF drawdown of voted resource for Victims of Overseas Terrorism 
			 Total  193.4  
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 
			 Supplementary Estimate Type of funding Amount (£ million) Purpose 
			 Spring DEL 235.0 Drawdown to cover costs of Pre-Tariff cases within the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority 
			   51.0 Drawdown to cover cost pressures emerging in the Ministry 
			 Total  286.0

Victims’ Commissioner

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the new Victims Commissioner will be required to seek representations from a wide range of organisations offering services sought by families of homicide victims.

Helen Grant: The Victims Commissioner has a statutory duty to promote the interests of victims and witnesses and to encourage good practice in their treatment. In fulfilling these statutory obligations, I expect the Victims Commissioner to listen to the views of victims and witnesses and their representative organisations, including those offering services sought by families of homicide victims.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will estimate the number of (a) apprenticeship and (b) advanced apprenticeship starts in (i) Southend West constituency, (ii) the Southend Borough Council area and (iii) Essex in each of the next five years.

Matthew Hancock: Table 1 shows the provisional number of Apprenticeship programme starts in (a) Southend West parliamentary constituency, (b) Southend on Sea and Essex local education authorities by level for the 2011/12 academic year.
	We publish Apprenticeship starts at region, local education authority and parliamentary constituency levels of geography, therefore data for Southend borough council is not presented.
	Provisional data for the 2011/12 academic year provide an early view of performance and will change as further data returns are received from further education colleges and providers. They should not be directly compared with final year data from previous years. Figures for 2011/12 will be finalised in January 2013.
	
		
			 Table 1: Apprenticeship programme starts by geography and level, 2011/12 (provisional) 
			  Level 2011/12 (provisional) 
			 Southend West constituency Intermediate 390 
			  Advanced 190 
			  Higher — 
			  Total 580 
			    
			 Southend on Sea local education authority Intermediate 790 
			  Advanced 370 
			  Higher — 
			  Total 1,170 
			    
			 Essex local education authority Intermediate 7,510 
			  Advanced 4,020 
			  Higher 70 
			  Total 11,590 
			 Notes: 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Geographic breakdowns are based upon the home postcode of the learner. 3. Figures are based on the geographic boundaries as of May 2010. 4. Provisional data for 2011/12 should not be directly compared with data for earlier years. Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Apprenticeships are demand led and rely on employers to offer suitable job opportunities. It is therefore difficult to predict the number of apprenticeship places for the next five years.
	Information on the number of Apprenticeship starts by Geography is published in a supplementary table to a quarterly Statistical First Release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 11 October 2012:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_supplementary_tables/Apprenticeship_sfr_supplementary_tables/

Environmental Protection: EU Grants and Loans

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what submissions the Government has made to the recent EU consultation on Guidelines on state aid for environmental protection and environmental support measures in relation to (a) new nuclear power and (b) other matters; if he will publish details of any such submissions; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The UK sent a full response to the public consultation on the European Commission Guidelines on Environmental Protection.
	In relation to (a) new nuclear power, the response pointed out that in order to both meet our national and international emissions targets and for security of supply purposes, the new guidelines would have to make some provision for flexible support of low carbon technologies including nuclear energy, as state aid may be required in certain circumstances. This however should be subject to strict conditions. This is consistent with the Government's stated policy of no public subsidy for new nuclear generation as set out by the then Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), in his statement to the House on 18 October 2010, Official Report , columns 42-46WS.
	In relation to (b) the response proposed that the new guidelines should be more supportive to the supply of finance for environmental projects and the need to help industry with the transition to a low carbon economy.
	The European Commission has published the responses it received, including that of the UK, on its website.

Export Controls: Israel

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he suspended the export licensing process with regard to exports to Israel at the time of the recent hostilities in Palestine and Israel.

Michael Fallon: No. Any such formal suspension would be announced to Parliament. We are of course constantly monitoring the situation in the region and we take into account any changes in circumstances during our assessment of export licence applications.

Financial Services: Africa

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to promote UK financial services in growth markets in Africa;
	(2)  whether he has had discussions with other Government departments on promotion of the UK's financial expertise and skills in (a) Africa and (b) elsewhere in the developing world.

Michael Fallon: As one of the UK's leading industries, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) actively promotes UK financial services in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world, through a combination of bespoke work for UK financial services companies and the promotion of UK strengths in this sector generally. UKTI's primary partner in this respect is TheCityUK (TCUK) which, with its members, sets the strategic direction for the international promotion of the financial services industry. TheCityUK's sub-Saharan Africa Market Advisory Group was launched in June 2012 to develop and build closer business links between the financial and related professional services sector in the UK and sub-Saharan Africa. To this end, UKTI and TCUK have commissioned independent market research on the scope and reach of opportunities for the financial and professional services industry in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Angola and Ghana.
	The Lord Mayor of London, who is a unique ambassador for the City and the financial, professional and business service sectors in general, will visit Angola, Nigeria and Ghana in 2013, as well as other developing markets including Chile, Peru and Mongolia. The Lord Mayor will be accompanied on these visits by delegations from the financial and professional services, and will report back to UKTI and other Government Departments on his visits.
	With regard to discussions with other Government Departments, I refer my hon. Friend to my answer on 22 November 2012, Official Report, columns 593-4W, in which I replied that the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), and ministerial team meet regularly with colleagues in both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and HM Treasury to discuss trade issues, including those relating to the financial services sector.

Instagram Your Policy Scheme

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the cost of the Instagram Your Policy scheme.

Jo Swinson: The Instagram Your Policy scheme did not incur any direct costs.
	One member of staff spent a total of one hour writing an article for the intranet and promoting the scheme through other internal channels.
	This was an internal employee engagement exercise, organised as part of Social Media Week 2012, by the BIS digital communications team. The aim was to encourage staff to try new digital tools, as part of the Civil Service Reform Plan, which encourages greater use of digital within Government.

Overseas Trade

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the contribution to UK income and growth made by trade with developing nations.

Michael Fallon: A broad range of evidence suggests that international trade, including trade with developing countries, boosts incomes and growth over the longer term. It enhances competition, encourages greater specialisation and facilitates the dissemination of knowledge and innovation and these boost both the UK's and our partner countries' productivity and hence long-term growth.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2012, Official Report, column 697W, on Regional Growth Fund, how many Regional Growth Fund bids have been withdrawn under (a) round one and (b) round two; and how many individual awards those correspond to.

Michael Fallon: Eight bids from round one and 20 bids from round two have withdrawn. The eight withdrawn bids in round one correspond to 11 individual awards as a bid may have multiple counterparties and thus contain a number of individual awards. In round two, it is however also 20 awards, making a total of 31 withdrawn, to update the figures given on 12 November 2012.

Regional Growth Fund

Andrew Bingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how funds committed to approved bids for the Regional Growth Fund which have failed the due diligence tests will be used.

Michael Fallon: The money released by projects that withdraw from the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) will be recycled back into the RGF.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the effect of inadequate sanitation, hygiene and toilet facilities in contributing to violence against women across the world.

Lynne Featherstone: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Tom Greatrex) on 29 November 2012, Official Report, column 465W.

HEALTH

Bisphenol A

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2012, Official Report, column 625W, on COPHES, whether the Health Protection Agency has conducted any research on measuring levels of Bisphenol A in the human body.

Anna Soubry: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) lead the UK component of the Consortium to Perform Human biomonitoring on a European Scale (COPHES) program. In each country, the exposure to cadmium, mercury, phthalates and (passive) environmental tobacco smoke was assessed in up to 120 children and their mothers by sampling urine and/or hair. In six countries exposure to Bisphenol A and Triclosan were also carried out. The UK did not take part in this section of the project. The HPA has not carried out any other research into the levels of Bisphenol A in the UK population.

Cancer

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there is a uniform policy for the use of the Cancer Drugs Fund in the East Midlands, West Midlands and East Anglia following the recent reorganisation of the NHS in those areas.

Norman Lamb: NHS East Midlands, NHS East of England and NHS West Midlands form the Midlands and East strategic health authority (SHA) cluster, with each remaining a statutory body within the cluster.
	We understand that each SHA has retained its own regional clinically-led panel to make decisions on the use of the Cancer Drugs Fund.
	SHA clinical panels are working collectively to promote improved access to cancer drugs.

Colorectal Cancer

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  who is responsible for determining the willingness to pay per quality-adjusted life year figure for the use of Bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer;
	(2)  what the current willingness-to-pay per quality-adjusted life year is for the use of Bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Norman Lamb: Local primary care organisations are responsible for taking funding decisions on drugs and treatments based on an assessment of the available evidence and taking into account guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). The Department has made no assessment of local organisations' willingness-to-pay per quality adjusted life year (QALY) for bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer.
	NICE technology appraisal guidance makes recommendations for the national health service on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of drugs and treatments, and the NHS is legally required to provide funding in line with NICE's recommendations.
	In developing its guidance, NICE takes into account a drug's incremental cost effectiveness ratio as expressed in cost per QALYs. NICE does not use a fixed threshold in making its recommendations to the NHS but considers the cost per QALY alongside other factors. NICE's methods guide, which explains the way in which NICE uses the cost per QALY, is at:
	www.nice.org.uk/aboutnice/howwework/devnicetech/guidetothemethodsoftechnologyappraisal.jsp
	NICE has appraised the use of bevacizumab for a number of indications for metastatic colorectal cancer and does not recommend the use of the drug in any of these.
	Where a cancer drug is not routinely funded by a primary care organisation, patients may be able to access it through the Cancer Drugs Fund, subject to the decisions of regional clinically-led panels.

Disease Control

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to address pathogenic resistance to antimicrobials.

Daniel Poulter: The Department is leading work on a new cross government “UK five year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and Action Plan (2013-18)”. This is due to be published in early 2013.

Drugs: North East

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) deaths and (b) hospitalisations due to legal high drugs there were in (i) the North East, (ii) Sunderland local authority and (iii) Sunderland Central constituency in each of the last three years.

Anna Soubry: In respect of substances which have in recent years become subject to control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has collected information about deaths relating to gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and its precursor gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), piperazines (benzylpiperazine—BZP and trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine —TFMPP) and cathinones such as mephedrone.
	The following table provides the number of deaths relating to these substances for (a) England and Wales, and (b) the North East region in each year from 2009 to 2011 (the latest year available).
	Figures have not been provided for Sunderland local authority and Sunderland central constituency in line with the ONS guidance for protecting confidentiality within birth and death statistics.
	
		
			 Number of deaths related to drug poisoning where GHB/GBL, BZP/TFMPP or a cathinone was mentioned on the death certificate, England and Wales, North East 2009-2011 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) 
			 Death  (persons) 
			  2009 2010 2011 
			 England and Wales 25 22 28 
			 North East 2 3 0 
			 (1) Based on boundaries as of August 2012. (2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. (3) Figures exclude deaths of non-residents. (4) Cause of death related to drug poisoning was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD 10). The ICD-10 codes for drug poisoning are: F11-F16, F18-F19—Mental and behavioural disorders due to drug use (excluding alcohol and tobacco) X40-X44—Accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances X60-X64—Intentional self-poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances X85—Assault by drugs, medicaments and biological substances Y10-Y14—Poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances, undetermined intent (5) Figures presented here may not agree with figures presented for each substance separately as where more than one drug is mentioned on a death certificate the death will be counted in more than one category if the substances are presented separately. Source: Office for National Statistics 
		
	
	The information which is collected centrally about hospital admissions for drug poisoning does not distinguish between any of these newer substances. In “Statistics on Drug Misuse England, 2012” published on 29 November, the Health and Social Care Information Centre highlighted a consultation on whether additional codes should be included in collecting statistics on hospital admissions for drug poisoning.

Health Services: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff of each primary care trust in (a) Suffolk, (b) Norfolk and (c) Cambridgeshire received redundancy payments in each of the last three years; and what the value was of such payments.

Daniel Poulter: Information on redundancy numbers and costs is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table:
	
		
			 Primary care trust (PCT) exit packages information 
			 2009-10 
			 Organisation Total number of exit packages Total cost of exit packages (£000) Cost of compulsory redundancies (£000) Cost of other exits (£000) 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 0 0 0 0 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 1 70 0 70 
			 Norfolk PCT 0 0 0 0 
			 Peterborough PCT 1 14 14 0 
			 Suffolk PCT 1 9 0 9 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11 
			 Organisation Total number of exit packages Total cost of exit packages (£000) Cost of compulsory redundancies (£000) Cost of other exits (£000) 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 7 64 0 64 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT 7 167 22 145 
			 Norfolk PCT 9 402 222 180 
			 Peterborough PCT 3 59 16 43 
			 Suffolk PCT 59 1,390 0 1,390 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 
			 Organisation Total number of exit packages Total cost of exit packages (£000) Cost of compulsory redundancies (£000) Cost of other exits (£000) 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 4 336 0 336 
			 Great Yarmouth and Waveney per 5 148 148 0 
			 Norfolk PCT 25 969 943 26 
			 Peterborough PCT 8 378 0 378 
		
	
	
		
			 Suffolk PCT 17 271 271 0 
			 Notes: 1. Exit packages includes compulsory redundancies and other departures. The latter includes the cost of early retirements (except those due to ill health), voluntary redundancies, Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme, pay in lieu of notice etc. However, it is not possible to separately identify the value of compulsory and voluntary redundancies from these costs from the data collected. Therefore, an overall figure for redundancies is not separately identifiable. 2. The expense associated with these departures may have been recognised in part or in full in a previous period. Source: 2010-11 and 2011-12 PCT and NHS Trusts Audited Summarisation Schedules 
		
	
	The data is taken from the audited summarisation schedules of PCTs, from which NHS elements of the Department's annual report and accounts are prepared. The disclosure in the accounts reports the number and value of exit packages taken by staff leaving in the year. The expense associated with these departures may have been recognised in part or in full in a previous period.
	Information on Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT has been provided as it covers the geographical area of both Norfolk and Suffolk. As the lowest level of detail at which financial data is collected by the Department for statutory accounting is by PCT, we are unable to disaggregate this data any further.
	Information on Peterborough PCT has been provided as it covers part of the geographical area of Cambridgeshire. As the lowest level of detail at which financial data is collected by the Department for statutory accounting is by PCT, we are unable to disaggregate this data any further.

Health Services: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by (a) Suffolk Primary Care Trust and (b) the East of England Strategic Health Authority on (i) management and (ii) other business consultants in each of the last three years.

Daniel Poulter: Spending on consultants by Suffolk Primary Care Trust (PCT) and the East of England Strategic Health Authority (SHA) is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 £000 
			 Organisation 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Suffolk PCT 878 861 1,665 
			 East of England SHA 6,370 3,854 742 
			 Source: NHS audited summarisation schedules for 2009-10 to 2011-12 
		
	
	It is not possible to disaggregate the amounts spent on management and other business consultants from the statutory accounting data collected by the Department.

Health Services: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the public purse was per head of population of expenditure on the (a) capital and (b) running costs of the NHS in (i) Suffolk, (ii) Bedfordshire, (iii) Cambridgeshire, (iv) Essex, (v) Hertfordshire and (vi) Norfolk in each of the last three years.

Daniel Poulter: The information is not available in the format requested. However, the total capital expenditure and running costs, expressed in terms of expenditure per head of population, for all national health service organisations in the East of England strategic health authority are noted in the following table:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Capital expenditure per head of population Running costs per head of population 
			 2011-12 26.0 35.7 
			 2010-11 52.1 45.4 
			 2009-10 36.5 n/a 
			 Source: Capital expenditure data has been taken from the audited summarisation schedules of NHS Bodies. Running costs data has been taken from management information collected alongside audited statutory accounting data. 
		
	
	For 2011-12; strategic health authorities and primary care trusts reported their running costs, which replaced management costs, as stated in the 2011-12 NHS Operating Framework:
	“By 2014-15 the overall running costs of the new NHS superstructure, compared to the running costs of the current NHS superstructure, will decrease by one third. This decrease includes the over 45% reduction in management costs detailed in “Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS”, in relation to SHA and PCT non provider management costs”
	In 2010-11, the last year in which management costs were reported, strategic health authorities and primary care trusts also reported their running cost for the first time. The Department does not hold the requested information on running costs prior to 2010-11.

Health: Children

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to review the guidelines on sharing health data following the Children's Commissioner's report on this issue.

Daniel Poulter: The Government has commissioned Dame Fiona Caldicott to lead a review to ensure that an appropriate balance is struck between the protection of confidential and identifiable information within health and care records and the use and sharing of that information for research and a range of other purposes. Dame Fiona's review is expected to report in early 2013.
	The Health and Social Care Information Centre will, in due course, publish a code of practice to be followed in relation to the collection, analysis, publication and other dissemination of confidential information concerning, or connected with, the provision of health services or of adult social care in England. That code of practice will need to take into account the recommendations of the Caldicott review, as well as responses to the Department's current public consultation on amending the NHS Constitution. The code will act as a framework and will point to other more detailed guidance where necessary to address specific areas of concern.

Health: Finance

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which local authorities have requested that public health budgets being transferred from primary care trusts should not be ring-fenced.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 13 November 2012, Official Report, column 200W.
	In “Health Lives, Healthy People, Summary of responses to the consultations on our strategy for public health in England” (2014), the Department set out that the Local Government Group had been opposed to the public health ring fence, but it had received wide support from other stakeholders. A copy has been placed in the Library.
	To review the, over 200, responses from local authorities to confirm how many of them were not in favour of the ring-fence would require a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Hearing Impairment: Scotland

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with his Scottish counterpart on audiology services in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: The Secretary of State for Health, the right hon. Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), has had no such discussions.

Hospitals: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the average waiting time in each NHS Hospital Trust in the East of England for a person referred by a GP to see a hospital consultant in each of the last three years.

Anna Soubry: The following table shows the mean and median waiting times for first outpatient appointments following a referral from a general practitioner (GP) in each national health service trust in the East of England for the years 2008-09 to 2010-11.
	
		
			 Mean and median waiting times (days) following referral by a GP to a first outpatient appointment by NHS trusts in the East of England, 2008-09 to 2010-11 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 
			 Provider Mean Median Mean Median Mean Median 
			 Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 35.4 34 38.1 38 36.3 37 
			 Bedford Hospital NHS Trust 38.5 30 45.8 34 43.7 33 
			 Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust — — — — 39.8 34 
			 Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 30.2 29 35.8 36 35.8 36 
			 Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust 26.5 25 31.4 27 34.9 28 
			 East And North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 59.9 36 77.9 45 78.3 44 
			 Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 66.7 39 68.3 45 50.2 32 
			 Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust 21.8 19 24.5 21 23.3 20 
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 40.4 32 38.7 33 53.7 34 
			 James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 36.9 29 44.3 31 47.4 39 
			 Luton And Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 80.4 40 77.8 42 69.1 35 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust 23.4 20 23.8 20 24.0 20 
			 Norfolk And Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 27.8 26 33.3 31 32.7 32 
			 Norfolk Community Health And Care NHS Trust — — — — 21.6 13 
			 North Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 185.9 46 212.9 48 277.8 62 
			 Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 32.2 25 47.8 35 57.0 38 
			 Peterborough And Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 25.5 24 31.0 28 26.5 23 
			 Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 26.4 27 31.1 30 33.4 30 
			 South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust 27.5 22 — — 54.5 58 
			 Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 83.3 42 90.1 48 — — 
			 The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 28.8 28 29.6 29 29.6 28 
			 The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Trust 47.6 32 37.7 32 37.0 31 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 32.9 30 36.9 34 33.3 26 
			 West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 31.6 30 30.0 29 34.5 35 
			 Notes: 1. These data are not a count of individuals as some people may have been referred on more than one occasion. 2. Time waited statistics from HES are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. Waiting times are usually only calculated for first attendances of patients referred by GPs and dentists (but see below). It is unclear whether the data collected has any relevance to subsequent attenders. Analysis of the data has revealed high (up to 100%) percentages of zero day waits for some providers suggesting poor data recording. 3. Source of referral for each outpatient consultant episode: the referral may or may not be initiated by the responsible consultant (a “follow-up” attendance). There is a high level of validity but evidence of variable provider practice in recording subsequent (“follow-up”) attendances. 36 of 162 organisations with inpatient dental specialties did not record a general dental practitioner (GDP) as a referral source. Analysis is restricted to first attendances, unless local provider practice for subsequent attendances is known. Analysis should also be restricted to GDP referrals for relevant organisations who record this. 4. First appointment: a patient may be making a first attendance or a follow-up attendance and the consultation may be face-to-face or via telephone/telemedicine consultation. 5. Assessing growth through time (outpatients): HES figures are available from 2003-04 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. 6. Data quality: HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England and from some independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. HSCIC liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC)

Influenza

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of deaths averted as a direct result of the seasonal influenza vaccination programme for each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: No estimates have been made for the number of deaths from seasonal influenza that have been averted in each of the last five years by the seasonal influenza vaccination programme.
	However, an unpublished study considered in 2012 by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation based on the epidemiology of influenza in England and Wales from 1995-96 to 2008-09 suggests that on average the current influenza vaccination programme might prevent around 4,500 deaths from influenza annually in England. However, there is large uncertainty each way in this estimate. The yearly number of deaths prevented will also vary widely from year to year depending on a number of factors including the degree of influenza activity, and the matching between the vaccine-type strains and circulating influenza strains.

Medical Treatments

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the relationship between strategic health authorities and consultants in respect of decision-making on funding for patient treatment.

Norman Lamb: Consultants decide on the clinical management of their patients and it is for local primary care organisations to make decisions on funding treatments for individual patients. The national health service is legally required to provide funding for treatments recommended in National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence technology appraisal guidance.
	In the context of the Cancer Drugs Fund, strategic health authorities have set up regional clinically-led panels to make decisions on which drugs will be funded, where clinicians wish to use them.

Midwives

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives were employed by (a) Suffolk NHS Trust and (b) in England and Wales in each of the last three years.

Daniel Poulter: The information can be found in the following table. It should be noted that the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre provide data for England only.
	
		
			 NHS hospital and community health services: registered midwives in England, the East of England strategic health authority area and the West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust as at 30 September each specified year 
			 headcount 
			  2009 2010 2011 
			 England 24,313 24,938 25,316 
			 Of which:    
			 East of England Strategic Health Authority area 2,313 2,321 2,519 
			 Of which:    
			 West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 94 93 114 
			 Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre Non-Medical Workforce Census

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health to what extent the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence takes into consideration the views of a strategic health authority in determining its guidance.

Norman Lamb: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) consults publicly at various stages in the development of its guidance. Strategic health authorities are able to respond to NICE consultations and their comments will be taken into account in the development of NICE's final guidance.

NHS: Information and Communications Technology

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the potential limitations to his plan for use of online technologies in delivery of NHS services due to computer illiteracy.

Daniel Poulter: Embracing opportunities created by technology, particularly to support people with multiple long-term physical and mental health conditions, was a key priority set out in the national health service mandate, published in November 2012.
	We recognise that different people will want and need to access health information and NHS services in different ways. While we are committed to adopting digital methods to deliver healthcare, we recognise that face-to-face contact with health and care professionals will continue to be an essential, core part of care. Information that is available online will always be available in other formats, where necessary.
	Many people will need some support to access, use and benefit from technology and information, such as online access to health records. We are encouraging the NHS and local government to do more to offer support to people who need help in accessing and understanding information, so that no groups in society are unfairly disadvantaged. For example, we have asked the Royal College of General Practitioners to review its guidance on supporting patient to access to health records to help ensure patients can get safe and easy access to their health information—and have the tools to make the most of it.
	This is about ensuring that information and technology benefits all and serves to reduce inequalities—not increase them. The Department will hold the NHS Commissioning Board to account through the NHS mandate for the progress it makes in reducing health inequalities and unjustified variation.

North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the financial status of North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust; and if he will make a statement.

Daniel Poulter: As at quarter one of 2012-13, the latest financial position published by the Department, North Yorkshire and York primary care trust (PCT) is forecasting a deficit of £19 million.
	The Department is monitoring the financial situation at the PCT and is working with the North of England strategic health authority to ensure the PCTs financial turnaround plan is sufficiently robust.

Nurses: Uniforms

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if his Department will take steps to ensure nurses' uniforms are sterilised after use in hospitals;
	(2)  what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the effects of not sterilising nurses' uniforms after use in hospitals;
	(3)  whether hospital catering uniforms are required to be sterilised after use in hospital kitchens.

Daniel Poulter: It is for individual national health service trusts to determine their own policies on the wearing and laundering of uniforms in and around the workplace and in March 2010, the Department published refreshed guidance to help them do so: “Uniforms and workwear: Guidance on uniform and workwear policies for NHS employers”.
	Scientific observations and tests, literature reviews and expert opinion suggest that washing with detergents at 30°C will remove most gram positive micro-organisms, including all meticillin-resistant ‘Staphylococcus aureus’, while a 10 minute wash at 60°C is sufficient to remove almost all micro organisms. In tests, only 0.1% of any ‘Clostridium difficile’ spores remained. Microbiologists carrying out the work advise that this level of contamination on uniforms and workwear is not a cause for concern.
	NHS trusts are required to comply with a number of essential standards of safety and quality in order to maintain registration with the Care Quality Commission. The standard in relation to cleanliness and infection prevention and control requires registered providers to have dress codes in place that ensure clothing worn by staff when carrying out their duties is clean and fit for purpose. Particular consideration should also be given to items of attire that may inadvertently come into contact with the person being care for.

Pharmacy

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions his Department has had with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee on future funding arrangements for community pharmacy services.

Norman Lamb: The Department of Health and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee are in active negotiations following publication of the “Cost of Service Inquiry for Community Pharmacy”. In determining the quantum and arrangements for future funding, there are a number of further considerations to take into account, including:
	any adjustments, for example, in respect of the extent to which the national health services should pay for different categories of cost, as well as uprating the cost of service inquiry findings to the current year;
	reviewing the medicine margin arrangements, taking into account the recommendations of the National Audit Office, such as extending the medicine margin survey beyond independent pharmacies to other pharmacy types, with a consistent approach on cost of service, and making more timely adjustments to medicine margin to reduce regulatory lag; and
	reviewing the distribution of community pharmacy contractual framework (CPCF) funding to incentivise and support high quality and efficient services.
	Pending completion of those negotiations, an interim position, which maintains CPCF funding at £2,486 million per annum, is in place.

Respiratory System

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to continue the respiratory work of NHS Improvement in the reformed NHS.

Anna Soubry: The work of all the improvement bodies working in the national health service, including those working on. respiratory disease, will transfer to the NHS Commissioning Board (NHSCB) from the 1 April 2013. The NHSCB has announced the structure of the new improvement body. It is still considering the exact work programme for 2013, and they expect to make an announcement in the new year.

Respite Care

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of access of respite care and short breaks for carers.

Norman Lamb: The Department of Health allocated £400 million to the national health service in primary care trust (PCT) baselines from 2011 to 2015 to provide support to carers, including breaks.
	The NHS Operating Framework for 2012-13 requires PCTs to agree policies, plans and budgets with local authorities and voluntary organisations to support carers and publish these plans on their website no later than 30 September 2012. These plans are agreed based on local priorities and will be publicly available.
	From 2013-14, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will assume responsibility for agreeing these plans with local partners. It will be for CCGs to make these decisions in line with the requirements of the mandate from the Government to the NHS Commissioning Board.

Staff

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in his Department earning over £100,000 per year have been employed as (a) special advisers and (b) in a political role in each year since 2010.

Daniel Poulter: None.

Strokes

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether the Commissioning Outcomes Framework 2012-13 will include measures relating to people who have experienced a stroke, including (a) psychological support, (b) joint health and social care planning and (c) six month post-hospital reviews;
	(2)  when he expects the Commissioning Outcomes Framework 2012-13 to be published.

Anna Soubry: It is for the NHS Commissioning Board to make decisions on how it will hold clinical commissioning groups to account for their performance, and we understand they will be publishing details soon.

Work Capability Assessment

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has discussed with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions the vote by GPs at the British Medical Association conference in June 2012 that the work capability assessment should end with immediate effect.

Daniel Poulter: No discussions have taken place between the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), on the British Medical Association (BMA) vote on the Work Capability Assessment. However, both Secretaries of State welcome a constructive ongoing dialogue with BMA on a range of matters.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy Supply

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to speed up infrastructure projects that improve energy security; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: The Government are taking steps to ensure the necessary investment in energy infrastructure occurs in a timely manner. For example:
	Our Electricity Market Reforms (EMR) will put the institutional and market arrangements in place to secure the private sector investment needed to deliver a reliable and affordable future low carbon energy mix for electricity.
	Designated energy National Policy Statements in England and Wales will help to ensure that the UK has an attractive market for investors in energy infrastructure by ensuring that we have a planning system that is faster, predicable and accountable. In Scotland, planning is a devolved function.
	The next transmission price control (RIIO-T1) will operate over 2013-21, and is expected to enable substantial new investment in electricity and gas networks.
	The Green Investment Bank will help to provide financial solutions to accelerate private sector investment in the UK's transition to a green economy.
	Progress has already been made. The low carbon economy has undergone significant growth in recent years, representing billions of pounds of investment from the private sector and creating tens of thousands of jobs.

Energy Supply

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will give consideration to publishing a single energy security strategy paper setting out how the Government will ensure long-term energy security; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: On the 29 November 2012 the Government published its first energy security strategy. This document sets out for the first time in a single document a clear overarching analysis and policy framework for energy security.
	The energy security strategy looks at the short term through to the long term, from immediate risks of disruption such as accident or extreme weather, to future challenges of increasing competition for key energy resources and rising wholesale prices.
	It finds that the UK currently enjoys a high level of energy security and sets out Government's current activities and future plans for maintaining this.

Renewable Energy: Heating

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the level of consumption of fluorocarbons in the UK attributable to the recharging of heat pumps by 2020 if the target set by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 5 July 2010 of two million heat pumps installed is to be met.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 3 December 2012
	No target for the number of heat pumps by 2020 has been set. The previous Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for DECC, Lord Marland, referenced a figure of 2 million taken from consultancy advice as part of the initial design phase of the renewable heat incentive (RHI) on 5 July 2010, Official Report, House of Lords, column 4. This number covered the installation of all renewable heat technologies under the consultant's lead scenario, not solely heat pumps. It is not a target.
	The Department's most recent projections suggest the deployment of 481,000 heat pumps through the RHI by 2020. This number will be updated alongside final policy proposals for the domestic scheme next year.
	Using this figure, the cumulative amount of refrigerants consumed between 2012 and 2020 would be approximately 1,200 tonnes; the global warming potential of this quantity of refrigerant would be estimated at 0.68 MtCO2e. These figures are based on the theoretical extrapolation of a model which includes a number of assumptions with associated uncertainty, including the leakage rates of refrigerants and the types of refrigerants used. Putting these emissions in context, the net total greenhouse gas emissions of the UK in 2010 was 590 MtCO2e.

Wind Power

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) onshore and (b) offshore wind farms there are in the UK.

John Hayes: As of October 2012 there are, (a) 422 operational onshore wind farms and (b) 20 operational offshore wind farms in the UK.
	This data can be obtained from the Department's renewable energy planning database:
	https://restats.decc.gov.uk/app/reporting/decc/monthlyextract

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arms Trade Treaty

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress the Government have made on securing a global arms trade treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The UK played a leading role in securing overwhelming support at the UN last month to convene a final conference in March 2013 to conclude an arms trade treaty. We are working intensively, in close consultation with industry and civil society, to build international agreement for a robust, effective, legally-binding treaty.

Pakistan

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Pakistan on the treatment of religious minorities in that country.

Alistair Burt: The Minister of State, my right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Warsi raised the treatment of religious minorities with Pakistani Ministers during her visit last month. In August, I called the Minorities Minister following the arrest of Rimsha Masih, a Christian girl, for Blasphemy. I am pleased that the case against has now been dropped.

Sri Lanka

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs What assessment he has made of the report of the Secretary General’s internal review panel on UN action in Sri Lanka published in November 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We welcome the UN Secretary-General’s review panel report on UN actions in Sri Lanka and support the UN’s attempts to identify lessons, to help it respond effectively to future challenges.
	We continue to look to the Government of Sri Lanka to fully and transparently investigate alleged grave breaches of international humanitarian law highlighted in the April 2011 Secretary-General’s panel of experts report.

Burma

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to promote peace and reconciliation in Burma.

Hugo Swire: We continue to raise our concerns about the conflict in Kachin and Shan States, and the violence in Rakhine State, with Burmese Ministers and Aung San Suu Kyi. The Government is contributing £27 million for humanitarian support and for peace-building activities in Burma, which draw on our experiences in Northern Ireland.

Rwanda: DRC

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Rwanda on violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mark Simmonds: The Prime Minister and I have pressed Presidents Kagame and Kabila to work together to end the crisis.
	Rwandan support for the M23 rebels should stop. We welcome the recent communiqués issued by the Presidents of DRC, Rwanda and Uganda. It is crucial these communiqués are translated into action to achieve sustainable stability in eastern DRC.

Cyber-security

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress he has made on international aspects of the November 2011 national cyber security strategy.

William Hague: In January 2011, I launched a new initiative on cyberspace at the London Conference. At the Budapest Conference in October the UK proposed a set of principles for effective co-operation between states, businesses and organisations. We have also launched a £2 million fund offering states independent advice on ensuring accessible, secure and reliable networks. Central to this effort is our commitment to an open internet, protecting freedom of expression online.

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs What recent discussions he has had with the Government of Afghanistan on the governance of Afghanistan after 2015.

Alistair Burt: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised governance matters with President Karzai in June of this year. We recognise that governance underpins the development of Afghanistan and welcome the Afghan Government's long term commitments to improve governance at the Tokyo conference in July 2012.

Afghanistan

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) Pakistan and (b) other countries bordering Afghanistan on security in that country after the drawdown of allied forces.

Alistair Burt: In my discussions with Afghanistan's neighbours, including Pakistan, I have assured them of our long-term support to Afghanistan.
	At the 2012 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Summit and Tokyo Conference, the international community set out its long-term commitment to Afghanistan's security and development.
	The region also has a crucial role to play and I welcome its efforts toward wide-ranging co-operation through the Istanbul Process.

Bangladesh

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the high commission in Dhaka has offered UK assistance with the investigation into the recent fire at a garment factory.

Alistair Burt: The British Government has expressed its deep sympathy for the tragic loss of life following the factory fire in Ashulia, Bangladesh. The Minister of State, my right hon. and noble Friend Baroness Warsi stated on 25 November,
	“I was shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic loss of life at a factory fire in Ashulia, Bangladesh. On behalf of Her Majesty's Government I extend our heartfelt sympathy to the people of Bangladesh at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who have lost their lives.”
	We welcome the Government of Bangladesh's own investigation into the incident. The high commission in Dhaka has offered no direct assistance to the Government of Bangladesh with the investigation into the incident.

British Overseas Territories

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance the Government provides to the overseas territories to assist with monitoring and curbing illegal and unregulated fishing in marine areas in those territories.

Mark Simmonds: The British Government and overseas territories arc fully committed to fighting illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. Territory Governments already deploy sophisticated methods, including dedicated patrol vessels and satellite surveillance, to tackle such fishing.
	The UK has a range of support in place, including: work to help territories strengthen their legislation and legal processes; funding the work of patrol vessels, such as that operating in British Indian Ocean territory; and. where appropriate, deploying Royal Navy vessels to conduct fishing inspections. The Government also recently provided for a dedicated fisheries patrol in St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.

Cyprus

George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the UN General Secretary's report of 29 September 2012, what reports he has received on hydrocarbon reserves around Cyprus.

David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and I are kept abreast of developments around Cyprus through regular briefings by officials. The discovery of hydrocarbon reserves in the eastern Mediterranean has the potential to bring prosperity to all the people of Cyprus and the wider region.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the situation in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: The British Government remains deeply concerned about the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and condemns the actions of the M23. The violence which has caused much suffering for the people of eastern DRC must stop and M23 must withdraw fully from Goma.
	I travelled to Rwanda, DRC and Uganda on 21-23 November to discuss the serious and urgent crisis in Goma.
	We were pleased to see the communiqués issued by the Presidents of DRC, Rwanda and Uganda on 21 November and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region summit on 24 November which called for the M23 to withdraw, for an end to the crisis and seeking new ways to resolve the underlying causes. It is important now that the communiqués are translated into action.
	The Prime Minister spoke to Presidents Kagame and Kabila on 22 November. He pressed Rwanda and DRC to play the important role they must in resolving this conflict and finding a long-term solution. I reinforced the Prime Minister's messages, in person, when I met the President of DRC on 23 November and underlined the importance of building a sustainable peace in the east of DRC.

European Union

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress he has made with his European counterparts in achieving a consensus for reform of the EU.

David Lidington: The UK Government is committed to a reformed, modernised and improved EU and is working with a range of European countries to achieve this. We have reached agreements that are important for Britain, including deepening of the single market and consultation with the European Commission to revise burdensome legislation for micro-companies and SMEs.
	Equally, at the recent November European Council, we worked closely with other net contributor countries to reject unaffordable increases in the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework.

Latin America

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Minister in his Department will attend the EU-CELAC summit in Santiago, Chile in January 2013.

Hugo Swire: We are in the process of deciding who will represent the UK at the EU-CELAC summit in Chile. We expect to know soon, and I will write to the right hon. Member to inform him of that decision.

Pitcairn Islands

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will work with the British High Commissioner to New Zealand to establish a highly protected marine reserve in Pitcairn.

Mark Simmonds: I am aware of suggestions for a marine protected area to be established in Pitcairn. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office will continue to work with the Governor of Pitcairn, the Island Council and interested partner organisations, to explore and develop the options for the future management of the marine environment around Pitcairn. As our recent White Paper made clear, the British Government are committed to working with overseas territories to ensure the sustainable management of their unique environmental assets and to preserve them for future generations.